


Our Hour

by Anonymous



Category: Other kpop fandoms too, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Crack, Fighting, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Magical Creatures, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, No Kpop idols are antagonists, OT8, Romance, The antagonists are made up people, Witches, i’m not creative, new to ao3, other kpop idol cameos, violence but nothing too graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:41:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 63,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25939081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: “So why do we need to do this at midnight?” He questioned.“Because midnight is our hour,” Seungmin answered.“Our hour? What does that mean?”“Midnight is the witching hour. Usually our abilities are most powerful at midnight during a full moon. Long ago, our ancestors would come out during this time when their magic was at their peak, however, this wasn’t the only reason why they would come out. They would also appear during this time to connect with each other since this was usually the safest time to do so. They would be most active during this period and use it especially to connect with their loved ones.”Basically, all of the Stray Kids members are witches with different specialties. This is a fantasy AU with a happy ending. There’s some angst, but I try to keep it light-hearted when I can.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 40
Kudos: 123
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first fanfiction! Please go easy on me because I don’t know what I’m doing. This is my first time ever writing something like this, but of course it has to be Stray Kids related because I love them. I’m a multi-fandom so I stan a lot of groups. Other Kpop groups besides Stray Kids will appear in this and some of them will have more significant roles than others.
> 
> This whole thing is just for fun and I don’t take things seriously so I’m bound to have made some mistakes. Hopefully you will enjoy reading nonetheless. I know I’m not the best writer, but this story was more of a passion project for me. So please, enjoy and if you have any questions or comments, please don’t be afraid to share them.
> 
> Disclaimer: This story is in no way related to the actual Stray Kids members or anyone else in real life. This is purely fiction, and while the majority of the characters are based on real people, their personalities in here do not accurately depict what they are like in real life. This is a fantasy AU, so everything is just for fun.

_Safety and stability. That’s what every single living thing strives for. Whether it be a plant, animal, or human, they all search for it. A life with balance, for things to continue at an equilibrium._

_With this mindset, one would assume that such an environment would come from a physical place. Somewhere that stays in one area and can act as a home to shelter one from the dangers of this world. But what if there was another way to go about this? What if such a secure state could be found within something else?_

  
  


After his grandma’s funeral, Chan hadn’t been the same. It had happened again. He had lost another family member in his life. 

While walking through his grandma’s house, he lightly brushed his fingers against the various trinkets on her shelf. There was a small bird decoration made of glass, a few rocks and crystals arranged in a neat manner, and a box Chan dared not to open. When his grandma was alive, she was very strict about Chan and his siblings touching her wand. Being a green witch herself, she had been very strict about magic. Since her house was right next to a very urban area, one slip up could have gotten them all killed. 

But even so, the lady was drawn to plants like a moth to a flame. Her gardening skills were extremely impressive, and while Chan’s sister tried her best to keep the plants alive, it didn’t look nearly as bright as when his grandmother used to take care of it.

Chan flopped on the couch and stared at his laptop on the coffee table. He’s been stuck lately. After High School he never really saw a purpose in pursuing any higher education and getting some boring human job. His heart was naturally drawn to music. Every single sound, rhythm, and beat gave Chan life. He truly felt most alive when he listened to music, and especially when making his own. 

He had remembered the day when he figured out what kind of witch he was. Usually the average witch shows their speciality at around 12 years of age, but it could come to them at any other age too, it just wasn’t as common. Chan was living in Sydney when he was 12. There was one night where he couldn’t sleep, and snuck downstairs to sit next to the window and watch the rain pour outside. The calming yet strong sound of the water hitting the ground was almost musical to him. He decided to tap his hand against the table, humming along to a melody that he had made up on the spot. And that’s when it happened. Chan felt a slight rush of the most euphoric sensation he had ever experienced. His soul felt powerful, and his body was urging to release his newfound energy, his fingers tingling with mana. 

Back in the present, Chan frowned. He felt trapped. Why be born with such abilities that he can never use? It happened everywhere. Almost everything was like music to Chan. The world was his own personal symphony, and Chan could feel the magic bubble inside of him whenever he heard the beautiful tunes, urging to be released into some sort of action. But Chan couldn’t. He wouldn’t want to put him or his siblings in danger. Especially after what happened to his parents all those years ago. 

His Mom had been coming home from work one day when she suddenly got attacked by someone late at night. Panicking and letting her instincts take over, her fire magic seeped out and she burned the aggressor’s hands before escaping. One thing led to another, and a few days later a whole army of soldiers broke into their house and killed his mother. 

Chan preferred not to remember that day, but from what he could recall, him and his younger brother and sister were in their room scared out of their minds. Chan had barely entered his teen years, but being the oldest child, he held his siblings while they listened to the screams and ruckus outside. Then, the floor beneath them started to glow white. A circle on the ground surrounded them, and inside the circle was some ancient symbol that drew itself into completion. He remembered clutching his siblings tight while feeling light-headed, and then blacked out.

When he woke up, they were outside his grandma’s house all the way in South Korea. Showing up unannounced like that, his grandma made a fuss once she saw them through the window, and instantly took them in. It was a tough situation for everyone, and his grandma had explained most likely that his Dad had teleported his children all the way to her place. But such a spell would have taken a lot of energy teleporting one person, let alone three people. Whatever happened back in Sydney, Chan knew his parents were long gone.

Chan sat up on the couch and opened up his laptop. There were many unpolished drafts on there just waiting to be turned into full on projects. But there in the dull, lifeless house that his grandma used to own was not the environment he would have liked to do it in.

He checked the grandfather clock on the other side of the room, seeing it was 12:47 a.m.. His brother and sister were both in bed, but of course Chan was up because of his insomnia. He was getting restless, desperately wanting to work on another track but not being in the right state of mind nor place to do it. He needed to go somewhere, a place where he could clear his head and work more diligently. 

  
  


Hyunjin casted a water breathing spell before fully submerging his body into the sea, like he had done countless times before. Summer was just around the corner, meaning that the water felt a little cold against Hyunjin’s skin. But he didn’t mind. He’d always had a deep connection with this particular sea. It was the only place he’d ever known, he had grown up there his whole life. 

His family is the main reason why he stayed. Not knowing what happened to his real parents, Hyunjin for as long as he could remember had been raised by seven mermen. They were all really compassionate, but strange creatures. Hyunjin saw them all as his brothers, practically raising Hyunjin even though he wasn’t a merman.

The sea witch walked deeper into the sea, strolling through the sandy floor. He had gone to the beach earlier that morning before the humans came around, but he’d always leave early enough where he wouldn’t run into any. After a short walk, Hyunjin approached the underwater civilization his brothers lived in. Hyunjin himself couldn’t stay underwater forever like they could, but he could easily manage staying down there for a few hours.

Before Hyunjin could even approach the house, Yugyeom busted through the door and quickly swam out. He gave Hyunjin a mischievous grin before continuing to book it. Then the witch turned his head to the door frame where he saw an angry Jaebum panting, his chin sticking forward and everything.

“Why that little— Oh hey Hyunjin, you’re back early,” Jeabum said as soon as he noticed him.

Hyunjin gave a polite smile but then looked in the direction of where Yugyeom swam off to. “Let me guess, him and BamBam are up to something again?” Hyunjin snickered.

“Yup. Those two never grow up. And that’s why you’re my favorite Hyunjin,” Jaebum smiled.

Hyunjin heard a fake gasp coming from inside the house and watched as Youngjae stepped out and stood next to Jaebum. “Okay, that really hurt hyung,” Youngjae whined.

The older rolled his eyes, a smile etching on his face. “I can have multiple favorites.”

Lunch was eaten with the background noise of the TV playing. Jackson kept cracking jokes and telling stories about his family last week when he went to visit them, and Mark nearly choked on his food every time he tried to hold in his laughter. Hyunjin quietly sat next to Jinyoung, just taking in everything and enjoying the noodles the older cooked for everyone.

“Hyunjin-ah, how has your magic been?” Jinyoung asked.

Hyunjin shrugged, “I’ve been trying my best. I don’t know a lot of spells but those books I got from the library have been teaching me well.”

“That’s good. Be careful about practicing it on the beach. It’s a shame I can’t come there with you all the time and watch over you,” Jinyoung sighed.

Jinyoung was basically Hyunjin’s main caretaker. When he was little, he used to idolize him so much, looking at him like some sort of celebrity. Over time, Hyunjin had gotten accustomed with his hyung’s personality and no longer saw him as invincible, but Jinyoung still showered Hyunjin with love and brotherly advice. 

Hyunjin put his empty bowl down and looked at Jinyoung. “Hyung, I’m 20 years old now. I’m sure whatever happens, I can handle it myself.”

Jinyoung just smiled and pushed back some of Hyunjin’s hair out of his face. “When did my favorite child become so grown up?” He cooed.

A snort could be heard across the table. “Gosh, you and Jaebum hyung are so whipped for him,” BamBam laughed.

“Well maybe if you didn’t take so many random pictures of me and used it as blackmail I would treat you a little better,” Jaebum grumbled.

Yugyeom and BamBam just high-fived each other under the table with proud smiles mirroring each other’s. 

After dinner, Hyunjin would soon have to go up for air again. The sea witch usually had a spot away from the main beach where no human ever goes. It was behind some rocks, and it was the perfect place for Hyunjin to relax and do whatever he felt like. 

But things weren’t all perfect. While leaning against a rock and reading his magic book, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander. Being a sea witch, he always felt out of place with his seven brothers. Of course he loved them, but they were different from Hyunjin. They had beautiful merman tails that glistened metallic shades of all sorts of colors in the light. They swam around and spent all their time in the water. Hyunjin felt a little left out. He always stayed because the sea was safe. Because his hyungs were there. But even with his deep connection with the sea, he couldn’t help but feel like he was destined for something else. He had to have some greater purpose, but he had no clue what it could be. He’d never met another witch before, not even another sea witch. The only clues he had to his identity were the books he got from the library. Through the small collection of books they had, he was able to pick up a few spells and tricks as a witch. But even so, he hadn’t the slightest idea of what he was truly capable of.


	2. Chapter 2

Chan looked up at the bright white moon in the sky, casting down a glimmering light across the water. The beach’s sand was white, feeling cold as Chan picked some up in his hand and let it run down and fall between his fingers. He took a deep breath.

The sounds around him were like a gentle melody in his ear. He could hear the splashing of water against the rocks, the steady rhythm of the waves, and the occasional splashes coming from the water that abruptly hit the edge of the beach.

Chan drew closer to the water, laptop held snugly against his side. The dark night sky was clear, full of stars and constellations of all types. A gentle breeze carried a whiff of the salty air to Chan’s nose. 

Once he found a good spot that was a comfortable distance away from the water, he sat down on the soft sand, not caring about his black ripped jeans getting dirty. 

He hummed a melody as he started up his laptop, finding this place the perfect environment to work on a song. He knew coming out here for inspiration would be good for him. Why he worked best at such ungodly hours was something that always puzzled a part of him, but it’s not like he could ever sleep anyway.

  
  


Hyunjin could hear faint humming coming from the beach. He panicked. He had gone to an area closer to the beach because never before had he ever seen or heard anyone else at this late of an hour. _Is that a human? What would a human be doing out in the middle of the night?_

He peeked out from behind a rock and saw someone sitting down in front of the sea. He had a head full of light blonde curls. His black headphones that were connected to his laptop blocked his hearing from the rest of the world, completely immersed in whatever he was listening to. Hyunjin could make out a slight smile on the man’s face, one of content. How Hyunjin was curious about that smile.

Despite Chan looking like any other human Hyunjin has seen before, there was something odd about him. Through his connection with the sea and the man’s close proximity with the water, Hyunjin couldn’t sense such an energy coming from him. His energy was peculiar, almost familiar to Hyunjin’s senses.

The sea witch furrowed his eyebrows, already hearing the warnings his hyungs would give him about approaching such a person sitting on the beach. His head was filled with worst case scenarios, his body wanting to go back into the water, back to safety. But in that moment, he did something for the first time in his life. He took a chance.

  
  


Chan was about to play with the different pitch settings of a music sample when he heard footsteps. His ears immediately focused on the person approaching him, but he didn’t look up from his screen just yet. Instead he just sat there, listening to the gradual crescendo coming from the other’s steps across the white sand.

Chan took off his headphones and set them to the side, eyes moving from the black shadow on the ground up to the figure. His skin was slightly sun-kissed and his eyes lit up in the moonlight. He had a delicate mole placed near his eye, plump lips, and a confused look on his ethereal-seeming face.

“What are you doing?” The other finally asked after a moment of peaceful silence.

Instead of replying right away, Chan just did what he always did when he encountered another being that interested him, he listened to their sound. Everything had a sound, and it didn’t have to be musical. Like some people can see auras, Chan’s abilities were similar in the way that he could hear how a person would carry themself. 

This man was not human, he could pick up on that. This tall male sounded nearly identical to the waves of the sea behind him. He must have some deep spiritual connection with the body of water, otherwise Chan would have detected maybe some other sound.

The music witch titled his head slightly. “What are _you_ doing?” He questioned back.

  
  


Hyunjin was immediately taken back. _Okay this man is kinda weird. Maybe I should just go away-_

“Just walking,” Hyunjin said nonchalantly. He must have been getting bolder by the minute, because he just answered without thinking about the words spilling out of his mouth.

The curled blonde let out a soft hum, sounding like he wasn’t too convinced by Hyunjin’s answer. But it seemed he chose to not press forward.

“Are you... working on something?” Hyunjin asked him while pointing to his laptop.

Chan nodded, looking at the sea witch in front of him. “I work best at night. And being here is good inspiration for my latest song.”

“So you’re a music producer?”

“Something like that,” Chan shrugged. He reached out a hand, holding it out in Hyunjin’s direction.

“I’m Bang Chan by the way. What’s your name?” He asked. 

Hyunjin awkwardly shook hands with him, the custom being too human for him. “I’m Hyunjin. Hwang Hyunjin,” He answered.

Chan patted a spot next to him on the sand and grinned at the sea witch. “Wanna sit down? I could really use a second opinion on this track.”

Hyunjin ran a hand through his long blonde locks and debated on whether or not he should stay with the stranger. He could be dangerous for all he knew.

“Please Hyunjin?” Chan asked again, this time having a more playful tone in his voice.

The sea witch snickered a little, he almost sounded like his brother BamBam. “Sure, why not?” Hyunjin gave in.

  
  


The two witches had been meeting up with each other every other night. Usually after midnight so Chan could sneak out of the house without his younger siblings questioning him. Hyunjin would ask Chan lots of questions about being a witch and what things were like on the surface, while Chan would ask Hyunjin what he thought about his music. To Chan’s surprise, Hyunjin had a pretty good ear for it. The sea witch had explained that people in his family would sing and rap all the time around him, but Hyunjin himself had never studied or practiced music.

“Why’d you bring a microphone hyung?” Hyunjin asked one day while they sat on the beach. Learning from the first time he came, Chan brought a blanket to lay on the beach as well as some snacks and beverages from the surface for Hyunjin to try for the first time. Hyunjin was currently sipping an americano and eating some jelly candies. 

“I brought a microphone because we’re going to be recording ourselves singing and rapping the lyrics,” Chan grinned. 

“Us?” Hyunjin questioned. Hyunjin helped Chan in the creative process a few times, but this was nothing like that at all. Hyunjin was worried. He’d never tried anything like this before.

“Yeah, us,” Chan chuckled while bumping shoulders with Hyunjin, “I really feel like your voice will compliment the song. The beach is not my preferred location to record, but we’ll make it work.”

Before Hyunjin could express his doubts and concerns out loud, Chan already put his headphones over Hyunjin’s ears, pulled up the lyrics, and instructed Hyunjin on what to do. At first Hyunjin was frozen and Chan had to give him reassurance and let him try again. But after gathering a little bit of courage, Hyunjin sang. And his voice was extraordinary. 

A few days after Chan finally finished the song, they listened to it together. Hyunjin did the vocal parts while Chan did the rapping and some background vocals. He was proud of himself, but especially proud of Hyunjin. 

The sea witch smiled when they listened to the finished song once more, and he started to get up on his feet. “Well now that you’re finished, I guess you won’t really need me anymore.”

Chan’s smile slowly started to drop. “Won’t be needing you anymore? What makes you think that?”

“Well I helped you with your song, and even though you’re really nice to me, I’m not sure what else I could help you with,” The sea witch shrugged.

Chan got up on his feet too and looked the taller in the eyes. “Now hold on there. I’m not spending time with you just because I need your help. I spend time with you because I want to be your friend. I like talking with you and seeing you.”

Hyunjin pursed his lips and his gaze quickly went over to the sea. Although he and his seven brothers got along, he had never really had any friends or close relationships outside of them. The other merpeople usually avoided Hyunjin, sea witches in general having a not so nice stigma around them. But he was used to it, and his brothers made sure to treat Hyunjin like they would treat any other merperson. But never in his life did Hyunjin have such a person like Chan. A person that reached out and wanted to be his friend.

“Oh my god, are you tearing up? Hyunjinnie, I’m so sorry,” Chan apologized when he saw how glassy the other’s eyes were. He went in for a hug, wrapping the younger’s torso in his arms. Hyunjin didn’t look down at Chan, instead he just stared off at the sea. Through his tears, Hyunjin smiled. There was a warmth inside his body that felt new, but comforting to him.

Hyunjin let out a weak laugh. “It’s okay hyung. I’m just happy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk why but in my opinion, I feel like Chan and Hyunjin’s friendship is grossly underrated in real life. So I decided to make it more of the main focus in this chapter :)


	3. Chapter 3

_ Deep in a cave behind a wall of vines, there lies a deep pool of water. To the average eye, nothing about it would look abnormal. But once you clear your mind and jump into the bright blue water, an entire different realm awaits you on the other side. _

_ The safe realm, as the residents called it, was a place tucked into a small pocket of the dimension. A space on Earth that wasn’t directly attached. And there in that safe realm lived magical creatures of all types, freedom for all who lived there. Ever since humans took over Earth, any other creature that could serve a potential threat to them would be killed in an instant. That’s when a few creatures found out about the portal inside the cave. It led to the perfect place to hide, the perfect place to build a new life. Those who found out about it and entered the safe realm were able to continue their lives. The realm was almost a parallel to the planet, from its waters to its earthly materials. _

  
  


_ Present day... _

  
  


“Mark. Haechan. For the last time, I am a divination witch. I run a fortune telling service, not a couple's therapy. You two are just wasting your time and your money,” Jeongin sighed, burying his face in his palms.

The two had come into Jeongin’s house bickering something about their relationship. Jeongin was in the middle of meditating and the interruption really set him off, especially because the couple didn’t even make an appointment first. But Jeongin decided to be nice since he wasn’t seeing anyone else later that day. Unfortunately, all Jeongin got out of helping them was 30 gold coins and a migraine.

Haechan huffed dramatically. “Well you’ve got to have at least something! There’s really nothing more you can tell us about me and Mark’s future together? I don’t even know if he loves me,” He said while pointing a finger at Mark.

“Oh my god, we’ve been dating for two years,” Mark groaned and shot a glare at his boyfriend.

“Yeah, and I regret every second of those two years! And don’t think I didn’t notice that my hairbrush was missing this morning. You used it, didn’t you?” 

“I did not touch your hairbrush, Donghyuck,” Mark said while sticking out his tongue at the other.

“Don’t call me that you Canadian freak!” 

Jeongin had had enough. He levitated his tarot cards into a neat stack and put them back in their wooden box. Then he stood up from his table and went to the door, opening it.

“If you two don’t get out right now so help me I will call one of my friends to hex you both!” He yelled.

The couple reluctantly walked out of Jeongin’s house and mumbled something about him “overreacting” which really made the witch’s blood boil, but he was too done to say anything.

Before Jeongin could close the door a foot blocked it from closing. Jeongin threw open the door again and almost smacked the person before he realized who it was.

“Woah Jeonginnie, why do you look like you’re ready to commit homicide?” Seungmin asked while putting his hands up in defense.

The younger’s posture slumped and without saying a word, he just turned around and laid himself on his couch, burying his head in a pillow and letting out a high pitched dolphin scream. Seungmin closed the door behind him and went over to the younger, sitting down on the couch near his feet.

“I just came to visit you but if I knew you were in a bad mood, I would’ve picked a different day,” Seungmin said.

“No, it’s not you,” Jeongin mumbled while throwing the pillow to the side, “just some stupid customers.”

“Oh yeah, I saw Mark and Haechan walking out when I got here. They got their fortune told?” 

“No! They barged in here arguing about nothing and wanted me to answer all these detailed questions about their future. It was so ridiculous!” Jeongin ranted.

“Jeez, that makes being in a relationship sound terrible. Glad I’ve never been in one. I wanna stay single forever. Especially now since my art career is making a lot of progress.”

Jeongin straightened himself up and looked at Seungmin with a genuine smile. “That’s good to hear. I’ll go make you some tea since you came all this way to visit.”

While Jeongin worked on the beverage, the two spent the time just catching up. Seungmin had recently spent a lot of time drawing sigils in people’s houses to give them protection, but he’s also been working on a project with an art-loving werewolf named Renjun. They were in the process of painting the hallways of some magic learning academy. Jeongin set down a cup for Seungmin. It was green tea made with loose tea leaves that sat at the top.

“So earlier today while meditating, the strangest thing happened,” Jeongin started.

“What was it?”

“I started to feel on edge almost. Like something bad is going to happen. I can’t put my finger on it yet, but I could feel four energies all at once. And it seems like in the future, whatever those energies were connected to, are in danger,” He said seriously.

Seungmin had talked with Jeongin countless times about the future. The younger, while being good at his job, almost always had his mind focused on the future. In order to get the most clear and accurate understanding of what would happen to his own future, he would meditate. For other people it’s easy for him to read their tarot cards or read their palms but for Jeongin himself, he couldn’t successfully get an idea of his future from that because his own bias could alter his interpretations to what he wants to happen, rather than what will happen. Jeongin tried to be careful. That’s why he only followed and told his customers vague information. The more detailed things were revealed as, the more errors there could be.

The art witch took another sip of his tea, processing what he had said. “Where do you think these energies could be coming from Innie?”

“I don’t know. But judging by the way I felt them, they were far away,” Jeongin said.

“Well if you  _ did  _ know specifically where these energies were coming from, what would you do about it?” 

Jeongin’s eyes looked in a random corner of his living room. His gaze sharpened, and the corners of his lips slightly fell. “I would go to them. I would find them, and protect them. Wherever they are, I know they’re not safe.”

“Maybe you can try meditating again to see if you can find out about anything else,” Seungmin suggested.

“No, that would be too tricky. It might not even come back to me that way. The energies I felt were almost like a dream to put in simple terms. I was interrupted before I could really focus on it. And sometimes when you have a dream that cuts off, it might not even come back to you, let alone continue from where it left off,” Jeongin explained.

“Mm, I see,” Seungmin said in between sips. 

“There is another way I could go about it. But there will be more possibilities of inaccuracy if I try it.”

“Well anything is better than nothing really. What did you have in mind?” Seungmin inquired.

“You know I hate reading you, Felix’s, and Jisung’s futures. I’m always afraid my own bias will get in the way of interpreting your futures correctly. But if there are truly beings out there in danger, I can’t just stay here and not do anything about it. Since my future is fairly entangled with yours and the other’s, maybe I could do tarot card readings on all of you.”

Jeongin’s specialty was tarot card readings. It’s what he mostly used to read people’s futures. Slightly behind in skill were his palm reading abilities. And then he also knew how to read tea leaves a little bit. 

“Well I’d be more than happy to help you. But we’ll need to call over dumb and dumber here so you can read their futures too,” Seungmin snickered.

Jeongin’s eyes turned into crescents as a smile spread across his face. He could always count on his friends to help him out. 

The divination witch then noticed something in the corner of his eye. He looked at Seungmin’s almost empty cup of tea on the coffee table. He leaned forward a bit to look at the pattern closer and Seungmin just narrowed his gaze at the other, wondering why he was staring so intently at it.

“Seungmin,” Jeongin said with wide eyes.

“What?”

The younger looked at Seungmin square in the eyes and the older started to get nervous. It almost looked like the fortune teller saw a ghost.

“Your tea leaves. They... the pattern. It shows that there’s love in your future,” Jeongin sputtered.

Seungmin quickly looked back at his cup and almost screamed. He hadn’t realized it, but the remaining tea leaves at the bottom were mostly speckled out with one clump of leaves near the side. And that clump was in the shape of a heart.


	4. Chapter 4

Minho sat down on a rock near the cottage. Changbin was probably inside going over his many journals that he basically carried everywhere. The lunar witch was interesting in that way. He was always working on getting stronger with his magic while Minho wasn’t anything like that. If anything, Minho wished his magic wasn’t as strong as it was. He’s never had good control on his powers and he knows this. Especially now since his abilities were probably more active than ever. But luckily for him, the forest was the perfect outlet for his darkness.

“Minho hyung, you wanna come in and eat instead of staring at the sky like a weirdo?” Changbin called from an open window.

Minho turned his head and let out a light chuckle. “Says the guy who meditates for hours in random clearings!”

The lunar witch frowned. “It’s beneficial for recharging and spiritual connections! Not like you’d know anything about that though.”

Minho swiftly got up from the rock and sauntered towards the cottage, his eyes still on the other. “You’re really gonna try to give me a headache this early in the night huh? I’ll be right there, the food smells good.”

Changbin closed the window and walked away from the glass. Minho studied the cottage for probably the hundredth time since he started living there. The place used to belong to Changbin’s family. It was a nice shelter made of stone and wood. The outside was neat with a nice porch at the front and green vines slowly making their way up the sides. Minho loved it. He loved his home, he loved his work, and he loved Changbin like the brother he’d never had.

After eating dinner—which is basically just breakfast for Minho and Changbin— both witches set out to walk across the forest. That night, they’d be going in an area far away from the other creatures of the forest. In the Southeast of the land, there was a large tree with dark bark. And there, Minho would touch the overgrown roots of the tree, releasing his energy into the wood and watching as the plant illuminated a dangerously dark aura. Changbin just stood to the side, already having seen Minho do this countless times. 

When Minho finished the job in a matter of minutes, he dusted his hands off. “There isn’t much else I need to do tonight,” Minho said breaking the silence.

Changbin nodded and hummed a response, only half listening. He was in the process of quickly jotting some information down in one of his journals, finishing up a study of some sort of fungus that he didn’t get done last time. 

Minho rolled his eyes. “You’re such a nerd Changbin. Why do you do so much witch stuff if you never even need to know it anyway?” Minho leaned against the tree, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

The younger looked up at him with a serious gaze. “Well maybe I want to continue my family’s work. And there might be a day where you won’t be around to keep this forest strong. Then what would happen? So that’s why I observe this forest and your abilities so closely. So I can learn how you do things.”

Changbin’s family for generations had lived in the dark forest. But despite being so far away from human civilization, the place went under attack one night and humans had found Changbin and his family. They were to be killed, their powers considered evil and too dangerous to exist. His parents and his sister were drained of their magic and slaughtered before his eyes and the only reason he survived was because it happened to be a full moon, letting him escape out of pure luck. The forest was never the same since his family was killed. He could tell that the dark energy managed by his family for generations was getting weaker, along with the creatures that lived among it. That was until Minho came along. The nocturnal witch ran into the forest with nowhere to go. While trying to find a place to hide, the creatures of the night protected him, almost like he was one of their own. In return for protection, Minho helps out the forest. He understands the dark energy and has to keep the land strong with his magic. At their first encounter, Minho and Changbin did not trust each other at all. That was until Changbin realized that Minho had to stay around for the sake of the forest.

“I don’t know, this is kinda boring if you ask me,” Minho shrugged. He didn’t think what he did for the forest was all that interesting. If anything, when he worked it kinda just felt like a stress-reliever to him.

Changbin closed his journal and got on his feet. “Then what do you want to do?”

Minho thought about it and then his face lit up. He straightened his posture and flashed a grin toward the lunar witch.

“We should go near the creek! We can go visit the animal spirits!”

Changbin couldn’t help but smile back, finding it cute how excited the older got over these things, especially a certain spirit type. “You probably just wanna go there to see those three cat spirits again.”

Minho fake gasped. “How dare you! I love all those spirits equally!” 

Changbin snickered and grabbed Minho’s hand, walking in the direction of the creek. “I know you have your favorites hyung, don’t lie to me.”

Minho humphed but didn’t say anything else. He did like all the cat spirits there, but there was always this one trio that would kindly go up to Minho every time they went. The nocturnal witch even went as far as naming them Soonie, Doongie, and Dori because they were just that precious to him.

“About what you said earlier,” Minho started, “hypothetically, if I were to go for any reason, you’re the only creature I know who I would ever trust with this forest. I know it would be in good hands.”

Changbin looked up at him and smirked, “Of course it would hyung. Probably better in my hands than your tiny ones.”

Minho snapped his head at Changbin and swatted his shoulder. “Yah, you’re shorter than me!” He retorted. Changbin just giggled, the sound echoing through the cold air of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Seungmin reached into his art bag while Jeongin went to finish up some laundry. The art witch pulled out his phone and went through his contacts, clicking on the number he lovingly saved as “Squirrel Boy”.

_ “Yo yo, whaddup Minnie?” _

Seungmin cringed at the other’s tone. He was trying to sound like a rapper or something. Jisung as a rapper. Isn’t that a ridiculous idea?

“Are you with Felix right now?” Seungmin asked.

_ “Yeah but he’s doing weird witchcraft stuff at the bakery right now and I’d rather not interrupt him. Why?” _

“I need you and Felix to come over to Jeongin’s house as soon as possible. Jeongin needs our help.”

_ “Got it. We’ll leave as soon as Felix is done and-“ _

Jisung was interrupted by a loud explosion in the background. A dolphin scream soon came after it, one that Seungmin assumed would belong to Chenle, one of Felix’s employees at the bakery.

_ “I’m okay!” _ A cheery voice belonging to Felix yelled.

Seungmin rubbed his temples and gripped his phone harder. While Felix was a really good cook and an even better baker, the kitchen witch tended to experiment a lot with his potions and food. His bakery not only sold sweets, but potions as well. 

“Okay well just come over when you’re ready,” Seungmin sighed, “but leave soon alright, especially before the sun sets Jisung. You know how sleepy you get at dusk.”

Jisung was a diurnal witch, meaning his powers were strongest during the day. The witch would be a bright ball of energy all day but pretty much pass out right when the sun sets. 

_ “Got it! See you later~”  _ Jisung chirped before hanging up.

  
  


All four witches sat in Jeongin’s living room while eating some delivery food he had gotten them for dinner. 

“So... are we just gonna ignore the huge elephant in the room?” Seungmin started.

Jeongin was equally as concerned. Everyone else stopped chewing and looked in Felix’s direction. The kitchen witch was still too busy slurping his ramen. He looked around at everyone and swallowed his food.

“Why are you and Jeongin looking at me like that?” Felix asked Seungmin.

The art witch just pointed to Felix’s head and then he finally understood. 

“Oh this?” Felix asked nonchalantly while touching the orange cat ears on his head. “It’s actually a pretty funny story. I had gotten a request from Ten and YangYang to make a treat that was cat friendly. So I was trying to concoct some cookies that could be edible for cats, but I accidentally added in the sage too early. So the whole thing kinda just exploded and this happened.”

Jeongin furrowed his eyebrows, still in disbelief with how calm Felix was about this. “It’s not permanent, right?”

“Nope. It’ll go away in the morning. Hopefully,” Felix replied while whispering that last word.

Jisung giggled and brought his hands up to touch Felix’s cat ears too. “They’re kinda cute on you. It’s definitely a look”

Seungmin rolled his eyes. Classic optimistic Jisung. His cheerful and bright behavior only encouraged Felix’s crazy antics. 

They all finished up their food and Jeongin got straight to business. He broke out his deck of tarot cards and shuffled them in the air using levitation. Jisung stared at the card trick, still amazed at the younger’s skills despite knowing him for a long time.

“So why are we here exactly?” Felix asked.

“I’ll tell you after I read your futures. It’s best if I do it in that order,” Jeongin said.

They all were sitting at Jeongin’s main table he used for work, with Jeongin sat on one side and the other three sat on the opposite. The divination witch was still shuffling the deck, the cards flying through the air while stacking, mixing, and flipping. Once satisfied, Jeongin stuck out his palm and the neat stack of cards landed perfectly in his grasp. He laid them out in his hands, facing down.

“Alright Jisung, you first. Pick two cards,” Jeongin instructed.

Jisung chose two random cards and placed it on the table face down. He already had a pretty good idea of the process since he’d seen Jeongin do it before. The divination witch set down the deck and flipped over Jisung’s first card. 

The card showed a smokey cloud of darkness. It looked like a dark nothingness ready to swallow anything in its path.

Jeongin tensed as he felt it again. It was subtle in his body, but he felt one of the four energies from earlier in the day while touching the card. It was not only a sign, but a guide for Jeongin’s interpretation as well. 

“There’s a boy in your future. Another witch, whose powers are as dark and mysterious as the night itself. He is your opposite in almost every way,” Jeongin revealed. His eyes looked spaced out and he refused to make eye contact, but that was just him being focused.

Jisung stared at the card. He thought about what this person would be like. If they were Jisung’s opposite in every way, the witch must be a nocturnal witch. This information was interesting to say the least. He would never have imagined himself being close with someone whose powers were so drastically different from his own.

Jeongin moved onto the next card. He flipped it over and it showed the deep depths of a forest. The leaves on the trees were dark, and the bark up the trunks were almost solid black. The whole place looked like a setting for some fairytale villain to live in.

“This boy lives near the heart of a dark forest. The forest and the boy depend on each other, having a powerful mutual bond. This forest is filled with creatures of the night. They protect him. The boy overflows with dark energy, and the forest feeds off of that.”

Jeongin finally went out of his trance and removed his hand from the second card, the energy he felt immediately leaving him.

All Jisung could do was just take a deep breath. He glanced over to his right where Felix and Seungmin were looking at him, listening in on the whole thing.

“And do you know what this person means to me in the future?” Jisung asked, turning back to Jeongin.

The younger shook his head. “What I just told you is all I know.”

Jeongin quickly moved on to Felix’s reading, giving Jisung time to process things. After the kitchen witch chose his two cards, Jeongin flipped over the first one. It showed a picture of different types of moons in a line, illustrating the different phases that the moon would go through.

“In your future Felix, I also see a boy. A witch to be more specific. This witch has a strong connection with the moon. His powers line up with its phases and the light from it gives him strength. His heart is filled with pain, and his hatred for humans is strong.”

Felix didn’t say anything to this yet, so Jeongin moved on.

He flipped over the second card. It showed an identical picture to Jisung’s second card, the dark forest. This must mean that the two witches Jeongin had talked about lived in the same area. 

“This boy also lives near the heart of the forest. Many generations of his family had lived there. He closely studies this forest and all its living creatures. He studies its energy and behaviors.”

Felix ran his tongue against the inside of his cheek, a nervous habit of his. He was confused, yet intrigued. A witch with a strong connection to the moon must be a lunar witch. And Jeongin had stated that the boy in his future lived in the same forest as Jisung’s boy.

Jeongin finally went in to read Seungmin’s fortune, the art witch doing the same action as the two witches had previously done before him. 

The first card showed a picture of various seashells all in a circle, with one big starfish in the middle. 

“There is also a boy in your future-“ 

Jeongin got interrupted when both Jisung and Felix screamed ‘WHAT’ at the top of their lungs in unison. Jeongin shot them a glare and put a finger up to his mouth, signaling for them to be quiet.

“As I was saying there is a boy in your future. A witch to be exact. He has a strong connection with the sea. He’s been raised in an environment where he feels out of place, his identity being an embarrassment to him for many years. Most creatures around him don’t accept him.”

Jeongin flipped over the second card. It showed a picture of a beautiful beach. The sky was clear blue and the waters glistened in the light.

“This witch lives in both the water and the land. He had been raised by five—wait scratch that... seven beings that live in the sea. But not being aquatic himself, the boy has to spend time out of the water, making him even more different from those around him.”

Jeongin straightened his posture and held out his hand. All of the tarot cards floated in the air, shuffling themselves again. After a few moments, the cards went back into a neat stack onto his hand. He put the cards back into their wooden box and glanced up at his friends.

Jisung and Felix looked like they were trying to hold in some big dramatic speech waiting slip out of their mouths any moment, and Seungmin just sat there completely dazed.

“I’m gonna finally tell you guys what we do with this information. But first... it seems like you two have something to say,” He directed at the impatient duo. He knew he’d regret prompting them, but honestly if they didn’t get it out now then they would probably interrupt Jeongin later.

“SEUNGMIN HAS A SOULMATE!” Jisung blurted.

“Oh my god, I was thinking the exact same thing!” Felix exclaimed with his cat ears perking up.

Jeongin sighed. “Guys, it’s not clear what your relationship with these boys in your future will be like. They’re not your soulmates. Stop jumping to conclusions-“

“And Seungmin’s soulmate is some sea witch too! What if he’s like a hot surfer dude? I always thought Seungmin would marry a librarian or something,” Jisung interrupted.

“Me too! But Sung, what about  _ our _ soulmates?” Felix gasped.

“Let’s see. You have a lunar witch and I have a nocturnal witch. Got it! You’ve got yourself an emo soulmate and I’ve got myself a goth one. Or is it the other way around? I actually forgot the difference between emos and goths.”

Jeongin was tempted to bang his head on the table hard enough to knock him unconscious when he felt a hand place itself on top of his own. He gazed up at Seungmin, who gave him a tired look.

“How about you just tell them both tomorrow? We can all meet up again. It’s getting late and soon Jisung will pass out and I don’t wanna help Felix carry him home,” He chuckled.

Jeongin nodded and he got up from the table. All of the witches headed toward the door and the ones leaving put on their shoes.

“And remember, whatever was said in here today stays in here, you got that?” Jeongin reminded them.

“Yes sir,” Felix snorted and gave a fake salute. 

Jisung made the motion of zipping his lips, locking them, and throwing away an imaginary key.

“You two go on without me. I need to talk with Innie about something,” Seungmin said.

The other two witches who were about to leave shrugged and walked out the door together, still animatedly talking about the idea of “soulmates”. 

Jeongin leaned against the wall and stared at Seungmin. “What did you want to talk about?”

“You said earlier that there were four energies that you sensed while meditating. I’m guessing you only felt three of the four when you read our futures just now?”

“Yeah. I didn’t feel the fourth energy yet. I’m thinking it might have to do with that one being more prominent in my own future, but I probably can’t do a reading on myself without misinterpreting things.”

Seungmin frowned. “Hm, maybe for that one just try to meditate again and see if you can feel it. I know it’s not much, but I don’t think you have any other options at this point.”

“You’re right. But thanks Seungmin. I really appreciate you coming to visit me and even inviting the others over for me.”

“No problem,” Seungmin replied.

The art witch looked shyly to the side, eyes on the floor. “Actually there’s one more thing I wanted to talk with you about.”

“Okay...” Jeongin mumbled, noticing how Seungmin’s face flushed a subtle pink.

“The boy in my future and the sign from the tea leaves earlier... are they connected in any way?” He asked.

Jeongin couldn’t help but flash a sly smile. He’d never seen Seungmin so flustered about anything before. This was gonna be fun.

“I’ll let you connect the dots and that one. See you tomorrow,” Jeongin said while opening the door for Seungmin.

The art witch waved him goodbye and walked off towards the setting sun on the horizon. Jeongin shut the door and cleaned up a few things before heading to his room. He lit a few candles and burned some incense, the magical aromas perfectly complimenting each other. He sat criss-crossed on the floor and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths and clearing his mind. It didn’t take long for Jeongin’s brain to drift to another place, the lightness of his body allowing him to levitate a few feet off the ground. He tried his best to focus on any familiar energies. After ten minutes he was almost ready to give up, but then something caught his attention. It didn’t feel like an energy, but instead, he heard something. He heard soft humming making out a calming tune. Jeongin knew there was no way the humming was coming from his physical surroundings because Jeongin already made sure his body blocked out any sounds from the outside. If there was an actual sound that Jeongin needed to hear, he would have felt the vibrations with it. But here was no vibration with this humming. The sound just played over and over in Jeongin’s head. The divination witch knew that this had to be the fourth energy.


	6. Chapter 6

All four witches regrouped the next day in Felix’s bakery after it closed. They made sure all of the curtains on the windows were closed, and they locked the door in case someone tried to walk in during closing hours.

Felix (his cat ears fully gone by now) brought over some cups of water and plates with slices of strawberry cheesecake for everyone. Of course, Jisung immediately scarfed his dessert down.

“Alright, both of my employees just left. Now we can finally talk about what’s going on,” Felix said excitedly.

“You wanna do the honors?” Seungmin gestured to Jeongin.

“Wait, you were in on this the whole time? Minnie! I was dying to know what was going on all day. And you kept saying you didn’t know either. You’re supposed to be honest with me as your friend. I thought what we had was special-“ Jisung was cut off when Seungmin shoved a piece of his cheesecake in his mouth to shut him up.

“Anyways, I guess I should tell you two everything from the beginning,” Jeongin started.

The divination witch explained what happened when he meditated yesterday. How he felt four energies and could sense that they were in danger. And Jeongin expressed how he wanted to help them out.

“Well if you’re going out to find them, then we’re coming with you! I need to know if my soulmate is actually cute or not,” Jisung said.

“For the last time, they are not your soulmate. I just see them in your future. That could literally mean anything,” Jeongin grumbled.

“They say the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I should make something for him! I need to create the best dish in history. Wait what if he has any allergies? Eh, I don’t think my soulmate would be weak like that,” Felix rambled.

“Anyways,” Seungmin said in a sharp tone, “What this means is that we’re gonna have to find these witches. But according to Jeongin, they’re far away from here. We don’t even think that they live in this realm.”

“I think I remember Jeongin saying the other day that the boy in my future has a deep hatred for humans. You don’t think...” Felix paused.

“Yup. We think they’re in the danger realm,” Jeongin said.

For those who lived in the safe realm, they understandably called the other side of the portal the danger realm. It was taken over by humans, and no sane mythical creature would ever want to go over there.

“It’s a lot to take in and I know you guys are willing to help me, but please think about this. Going out to find them is definitely going to put us in danger, but the other witches might be in even more danger if no one tries to help them. Just think it over, yeah? You guys are my friends and I would hate to force any of you into something,” Jeongin said.

“Dang Jeongin, that’s very mature coming from our maknae,” Jisung said, following a low whistle.

“I’m not mature because I want to be. I’ve just met a lot different people. Lots and lots of people,” Jeongin shuttered.

They all decided to change the subject in the meantime, stretching their conversation from some things around the bakery that Felix wanted to change to Seungmin talking about a book he recently read.

“Well since it’s nearly dusk I think we should move back into the more serious conversation,” Jisung commented while checking the time on his phone.

The others all nodded in agreement. “Well I for one am definitely going,” Felix said.

“Me too. I’ll have to momentarily take a leave from my work but I’m pretty sure Renjun will manage without me,” Seungmin added.

“And I’m still in too. It’s not like I do anything with my life really,” Jisung shrugged with a smile on his face.

“Okay then,” Jeongin said, “When do you think we should leave?”

“I still have a few special orders I need to get done but probably by Saturday I’ll be ready to leave things to my employees. Today’s Wednesday, right?” Felix asked. Seungmin gave him a nod.

“Should we bring anything special for this journey? How long will it even take?” The art witch brought up.

Jeongin furrowed his brows at that one, taking a bite of cheesecake while he thought about it. “I would say just bring your standard essentials and magical items. Best case scenario, we come back in about a week.”

“Well I’ll take those chances!” Jisung beamed.

“Is it weird I’m kind of excited to go to the danger realm? I mean, what if they have some materials and ingredients over there that they don’t have here! The possibilities,” Felix grinned and let out a quiet, but maniacal laugh.

“I’m not sure how well our phones will work over there so make sure to let some people know that we’ll be gone. Don’t tell them any specifics like where or why, but just say if we don’t come back in two weeks then to maybe let the authorities know. Two weeks should give us enough cushion if we have any complications over there,” Jeongin explained.

Jisung yawned and checked his phone again for the time. “I should probably get going before I fall asleep in here.”

“Good idea, I’ll walk with you,” Seungmin said.

Jeongin lived on the opposite side from the two so he’d be walking alone. And Felix had to stay and take care of a few more things.

“Let’s all meet back at my place ready to go on Sunday morning. I’ll text you if anything else comes up,” Jeongin said.

They all said goodnight to each other before going to their respective places.

  
  


On Sunday morning, Jisung was the first to knock on Jeongin’s door. The older was extremely chipper like he always was during the day. Luckily, Jeongin had been getting ready since early in the morning so he wasn’t too bothered by Jisung’s hyperactive energy.

“I’m so excited! But trying to slip past my brother this morning was almost impossible. Brian kept asking me so many questions,” Jisung rambled.

“Doesn’t he want to be called Young K nowadays though?” Jeongin asked.

“Yeah but no one calls him that.”

It didn’t take long for Seungmin and then Felix to walk in. They all assessed their belongings again. They tried traveling light, each person having their own backpack with the exception of Seungmin that just carried his art bag around with him everywhere. They all packed only one set of clothes, but Seungmin could always use his magic to clean them. 

“I think that’s everything,” Jeongin spoke after organizing some things.

“What about your fortune telling service?” Seungmin asked.

“I announced on my page that I’m taking a vacation,” He said.

All four witches walked down the paved road, trying their best to not draw any unwanted attention to themselves as they walked out of town. The safe realm had multiple towns inside for those who chose to live in more densely populated areas. There were the three main ones like JYP, SM, and YG, but there were also smaller towns that creatures could live in. In terms of who lived where, one could live in any town they really wanted.

The four witches snuck around through some trees when they were far away from JYP. Since this area was near the cave that held the portal, it was heavily guarded. It wasn't easy for just anyone to get in or get out.

“Alright, we need to come up with a plan,” Felix whispered, “Seungmin, give me a pencil and paper. We might be here for a while.”

“Don’t you have an invisibility potion in your bag or something that we could use?” Jeongin asked.

Felix rolled his eyes. “Well that was gonna be plan Z but I wanted to go through plans A through Y first. Otherwise it would’ve been too easy. You’re no fun Innie~”

“Felix, we’re trying to get back here in one week with the other witches, not one year,” Seungmin whisper-shouted.

Felix pulled out a small vial from his backpack and poured a few drops on everyone’s skin, clothes, and items they were carrying so nothing would be visible. Since Felix had to travel light, he brought a variety of emergency potions in small containers versus the usual bigger ones he preferred, meaning he didn’t have much of the invisibility potion left afterwards.

They all quietly sneaked around and approached the cave where probably five guards were standing. The witches walked in a line, trying their best to walk through a gap between two guards. They almost got passed but then one of the guards sneezed.

“Bless you,” Jisung said.

“Thank you-“ The guard said before pausing. She looked over in the witches’ direction but obviously didn’t see them. They all froze in terror as the guard looked their way, but then shortly she turned her gaze.

“Yeji unnie, did you hear anyone just now?” The guard asked over to the one standing in the middle.

“No. But it’s pretty hot today so maybe you’re just dehydrated,” Yeji shrugged.

Both guards went back to facing forward and the witches decided to move again, getting deeper and deeper into the cave. Once they all approached a wall of vines, they pushed past the plants and let out a breath they didn’t realize they were still holding.

“You just _had_ to say bless you,” Seungmin growled.

Jisung pouted. “Well I didn’t want to be rude. Do you know how much it hurts to sneeze and no one says bless you?”

“Guys, look,” Jeongin interrupted.

They were standing before a pool of water. It was an unusually bright aquamarine and it definitely did not look shallow.

“You know it’s really annoying that I still can’t see you guys,” Felix commented.

“How long is the potion supposed to last?” Seungmin asked.

“I don’t know, a few hours? I made all my potions really potent just in case. Maybe I should’ve diluted the invisibility one now thinking about it...”

“Uh yeah, you should’ve,” Seungmin mocked.

“Should we jump in now or wait until the invisibility wears off?” Jisung asked.

“That’s a good question,” Jeongin said, “while we could wait a few hours I don’t know if the guards go inside to check in here or not. Plus the more daylight we have, the better. If the safe realm is basically a parallel of the danger realm, then I’m guessing that the times would be the same too. Felix, do you have anything on you to reverse the potion?”

“Sorry mate, I didn’t carry an antidote for the invisibility potion this time,” He said.

“Well then I guess we’ll have to jump in. Permission to go in first?” Jisung questioned brightly.

“Yeah, but please be careful. The last thing we want is to get separated,” Jeongin warned.

The invisible diurnal witch did a run up and cannon-balled into the pool. The water made his skin tingle, and he felt himself sinking, but he didn’t drown under the water. Felix soon followed after him, getting excited over the huge splash Jisung had made. The kitchen witch did his own cannon-ball but this time bigger, making some water splash on Jeongin and Seungmin. The two remaining witches just got in the pool normally and soon began to sink with the others. While looking down, they all saw a bright white glow at the bottom of the water.


	7. Chapter 7

Jisung threw his arm on the side of the pool and hoisted himself up. He was soaked, and the water just felt too weird for his taste after being in it for so long. He wrung the water out of his sky blue t-shirt. The diurnal almost had a heart attack when Felix suddenly got out of the water, fully visible now.

“Felix, I can see you. Like actually see you,” Jisung said.

Felix flicked his wrists to get some water off of him but then looked up at Jisung who he could see also.

“I think since the portal is magic, it cancelled out my invisibility potion,” He responded.

They both spent time drying themselves off, but they knew Seungmin could probably dry them off with his magic once he came out of the portal. 

Soon the art witch abruptly swam up to the water’s surface and started to get out.

“I swear it feels like I left my stomach back there,” Seungmin groaned while getting out of the pool.

Jeongin shortly got to the water’s surface after Seungmin. He got out and limped a little. “I think I got a cramp while swimming,” He hissed.

The divination witch looked at the others, surprised that the invisibility wore off.

“Seungmin, can you cast a spell to dry us off please?” Jisung requested.

He complied, reaching into his art bag and grabbing his wand. The magical object almost looked like an elongated paintbrush, but the whole thing was made out of metal and it held three gems of the primary colors at the bottom of it. In the air, he started to draw a symbol right next to Jisung, then to Felix, then to Jeongin, then next to himself. With the last flick of his wand, all the symbols glowed a light blue, releasing gusts of warm wind against the witches.

“Isn’t this the same thing as using a big hairdryer?” Felix asked while ruffling his wet hair to help it dry faster.

Seungmin’s raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, because I would definitely consider bringing a big hair dryer with us,” He said sarcastically. “This spell is actually from a magical snapshot that I took on a warm summer’s day last year.”

To the art witch, his wand is his tool, and the world was just his medium. One thing he can do is take magical snapshots of spiritual markings and imprint them in his memory. Once he captures a magical snapshot, he can conjure up a copy of anything he imprinted just with the strokes of his wand. 

“So that’s why you just sat alone by yourself while we all went swimming that one time,” Jisung brought up.

“No, actually that time I was just trying to get away from you guys being loud,” Seungmin said.

Once they all dried off completely, Seungmin got rid of all the symbols that were glowing in the air and snugly tucked his wand back in his bag. They made their way out of the cave, the place almost looking like a mirror image from the cave in the safe realm. They carefully crept around the corner just in case there were any guards, but it seems like there were none. The outside also led to some secluded place in the woods where probably no human from that realm has bothered going.

“Well it’s good that we still have daylight but we only have maybe two hours of it left,” Jisung said while looking up at the sky and the position of its sun.

“It’s odd how the danger realm’s time is ahead of the safe realm’s. I guess they’re not exactly identical like that,” Jeongin added.

“Then we should probably set up camp here. Later we can try to find the other witches with maximum daylight on our hands,” Seungmin suggested.

Felix was ecstatic about looking around, trying to find any new plants or other materials in the woods he could find but Seungmin immediately just grabbed the older’s shirt to hold him back from sprinting off.

“Why don’t you cook something for us Felix? Something that’s  _ normal  _ and _ edible _ ,” Seungmin suggested through gritted teeth.

Felix lit up at the idea of cooking. He and Seungmin went off in a different direction, Felix trying to find what he could use for food while Seungmin supervised him. Knowing the kitchen witch, he’d experiment with some weird looking plant in their food and possibly give them all food poisoning.

Jeongin and Jisung stayed near the entrance of the cave, now sitting down on the ground.

“I love being a diurnal witch, but sometimes I wish I didn’t have such a strict sleep schedule,” Jisung said out of the blue.

Jeongin picked up a random rock on the ground and fiddled with it in his hands. “It’s okay. At least you have lots of energy when you are awake. There’s probably many people out there without a strict sleep schedule who wish they could sleep and wake up with energy like yours.”

Jisung shrugged, “I guess.”

“And think about it. If the boy in your future is your opposite in every way, he probably passes out as soon as the sun comes up,” Jeongin chuckled.

Jisung smiled at this. Whoever that boy was, he’d surely meet him soon. And then he can see for himself what he’s really like.

  
  


Minho woke up surprisingly early that night. He groaned and rolled out of bed. Once he’s awake, there’s no point in trying to go back to sleep again. He checked the clock.

“6:45 in the evening? What is wrong with me?” He mumbled while getting up from the floor.

He dragged his feet downstairs and yawned, making himself something to eat. He decided on some toast with butter and jam since he was feeling lazy. Tonight he would have to visit the heart of the forest which was pretty close by to the cottage. Every month he would have to go in and release a lot of his dark energy in the center. It usually took longer than usual tasks he did at night, so he’d have a busy time ahead of him.

“I just had the weirdest dream,” Changbin sighed while walking in the living room.

“What was it?” Minho asked his housemate curiously.

“Well I was in my room studying, and then all of a sudden there was this orange cat. And the cat was knocking over all of my things, messing with all of my notes and books, and whenever I tried to get them to stop they would run away from me. They also ran into the kitchen and knocked things over too, but the cat just kept looking me in the eyes with a smug look while ruining everything,” He explained.

“Good thing not all cats are like that,” Minho said.

“I know. It was just weird I guess,” Changbin replied, waving it off.

Later that night they both went outside. Changbin went off to visit some vampire clan in the forest to see a few of his friends while Minho made his way over to the heart of the forest. It was nothing special in Minho’s opinion. Unlike a giant tree or rock, the heart wasn’t much of a sight to look at. It was just a small clearing with a patch of dark soil smack dab in the middle. All Minho needed to do was sit on the grass and put his hands on top of the soil, letting his body do the work while staring off into space.

“I see you’re out here again helping the magic,” A voice said.

Minho snapped out of his gaze and looked to his side. It was Ms. Choi, an old but very nice werewolf lady that took in lots of injured creatures and nurtured them back to health. Her and Minho have talked a couple of times, but they weren’t all that close.

“Hi Ms. Choi. What are you doing?” Minho asked after greeting her with a slight bow.

“I was just trying to find a night ferret that snuck out. I can’t find her and she needs to take her medicine,” Mrs. Choi explained, holding up a glass dropper bottle.

“Well I’ll keep an eye out for her,” Minho said.

The werewolf smiled and then sat down near Minho, looking at his hands that were resting on the ground.

“This forest really appreciates your gift. That time where there was no one around to keep that magic strong were some of the worst years for everyone,” She said.

“Thank you but I wouldn’t consider my magic a gift. I’m just doing what I can for this place,” Minho shrugged.

The werewolf let out a light scoff. “A modest one I see,” She teased.

The two sat in comfortable silence, the sounds of owls hooting and bugs buzzing filling the air. 

“Actually there was another reason why I came here tonight. And I’m lucky that I even ran into you,” Ms. Choi said.

“And why is that?” Minho asked.

“My younger brother told me something the other day,” She explained, “Us werewolves can’t tell the future or anything, but there are certain things that can trigger our instincts. And since my brother is much younger compared to me, his body is stronger and can feel things that I can’t. But what he told me was that he could sense something. He said it felt like something is coming in the future. Something that gives off light energy.”

Minho furrowed his brows and looked back to his hands that were still releasing his dark energy.

“Did he say if the light energy would throw off the balance of this forest or not?” 

She shook her head. “He didn’t. But if this energy was truly a threat to anything, he would have told me. I just wanted to let you know. In case something comes your way.”

The werewolf got up from the ground and dusted her dress off. “Well I’m gonna go try to find that ferret. If you see her, try to find me.”

“Okay, thank you Ms. Choi,” Minho said.

“No. Thank _ you _ ,” She smiled. 

He watched as she walked across the clearing, then she disappeared into the dark trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ms. Choi and her brother are not based on any real life people. I just made them up for the sake of the story.


	8. Chapter 8

“Are we there yet?” Felix asked for the tenth time.

“Seungmin, please tell me you can cast a spell to shut him up,” Jeongin cried.

“If I  _ did  _ have a spell to do that I would’ve used it fifteen minutes ago!” He snapped.

They had left the woods they previously camped out in and they were headed in some direction based off of Jeongin’s intuition. Unfortunately for them, wherever these witches were, it was going to take a while to find them. 

“Ooh I know! To pass the time we should play I spy! I’ll go first! I spy... something wet,” Jisung said.

Felix looked over at the lake they were passing by and pointed over to it. “It’s the lake right?”

“Bingo!” Jisung chirped.

“Wait, but is water actually wet though?” Felix asked.

“Um, I always thought it was. Is it not?” Jisung mumbled.

“Can you two be quiet for like five minutes please? I am not in the mood to smack you both across the head. Especially after sleeping on the ground,” Seungmin grumbled while desperately missing his bed at home.

“Okay,” Both of the loud witches said in unison.

Not surprisingly, the two only stayed quiet for a minute before talking loudly about something else. Seungmin just sighed, knowing there was no point in shutting them up again.

They approached a hill and walked all the way up to the top. Jeongin looked up at the sky and then his eyes gazed over the horizon of a city in the distance.

“This is where things get tricky,” He said, “The general directions of the energies split off here.”

“Should we all gather them one by one or divide and conquer?” Seungmin asked.

“Maybe split up? I think we could cover more ground that way,” Jeongin said.

“Great, let’s split up like some main characters in a horror movie. Cuz that’s a smart idea,” Felix sassed.

“You got a better idea?” Seungmin retorted. “Actually no, don’t answer that. I’m scared of what will come out of your mouth.”

“I think since mine and Felix’s witches live in the same area that us two should go there together. But we all need to stay connected somehow. And our phones don’t work over here,” Jisung said.

The diurnal witch took off his backpack and reached inside, pulling out two small compact mirrors. The outside was bright gold, inscribed with fancy patterns and swirls. He gave one of them to Jeongin and kept the other one.

“Hold up, let me test this out. These light mirrors can be annoying sometimes,” Jisung said.

The diurnal witch opened the mirror and looked at his reflection, focusing on the person he wanted to see. A glowing ring of light illuminated around the glass, and next to Seungmin and Jeongin, another ring of light formed in the air and filled itself forming a shiny bright circle.

“Hey guys!” Jisung smiled into the mirror when he could no longer see his reflection, but his two friends.

“Hey,” Seungmin waved while looking at the light in the air, seeing Jisung inside.

“Glad that works! Every time we need to contact each other, we just use this. Just look into the mirror when you want to talk to us, and really focus on what you want to see. Since we’re in possession of the other light mirror, you’ll be able to talk to us as long as me and Felix have this,” Jisung said. Playing around with the magic a bit, he made ugly faces into the mirror and then put his hand over it, seeing the light in the air darken when he did it.

“Okay Jisung, close it before you break it,” Seungmin warned.

The diurnal witch made one last face into it before shutting the mirror and putting it back into his bag.

“We will call each other on these to figure out details later on. The plan for now is to find the witches, but we need to make sure it’s actually them before telling them anything. So we’ll probably have to watch them for a few days so we know they’re the ones,” Jeongin explained.

“Sounds good to me,” Felix said.

Jisung ran in to give both Seungmin and Jeongin hugs before leaving. Felix would have done the same, but his friends always minded when he hugged them. He always crushed them too tight on the verge of breaking their bones.

“See you guys later!” Felix waved them off, leaving with Jisung.

“Bye!” Jeongin and Seungmin said, waving back.

  
  


The art witch and divination witch headed toward the direction of the city. Both of them had heard about humans before and knew that as long as you don’t perform any magic, then witches are able to blend in just fine. Jeongin had used his mirror once already to connect to Jisung, just to make sure the others were going in the right direction. Jeongin put the mirror away and sighed.

“Do you think the other two will be fine on their own?” Seungmin asked.

Both witches paused, and then burst out laughing. Jeongin ran a hand through his hair and tried to steady his breathing.

“Of course they won’t. But it’s better if we let them go their way. No matter how worried I am for them,” Jeongin giggled.

“Same. But we’ll be fine right?” Seungmin questioned.

“I think we will,” Jeongin trailed off, looking into the distance.

After a brief moment of silence, Seungmin looked at the younger again. “There’s something on your mind Innie.”

The corner of Jeongin’s lips curled and he shyly rubbed the back of his neck. “Is it that obvious?”

Seungmin just waited for Jeongin to tell him so the younger did just that.

“The fourth energy is strange compared to the others. Rather than feeling them, I can hear them.”

“Hear them? You hear an energy?” Seungmin asked.

“I don’t hear an energy. It’s more like a soft hum. Whatever the energy is connected to, the being must be extremely fond of music.”

“Music witch probably.”

The divination witch nodded in agreement. They continued to walk towards the city, the humming for Jeongin getting slightly louder the closer they got to the area.

  
  


“I think this forest is the one. It looks mad spooky,” Felix commented.

They stood before the land with tall dark trees, an unsettling dark energy radiating off of it and weakening Jisung a little.

“We should move fast to find them. I’m starting to get tired,” The diurnal witch yawned.

Despite having an hour or so of daylight left, Jisung was already looking exhausted which was concerning. The two witches walked hand and hand into the forest, Jisung immediately wincing once he felt the darkness hit his skin. It didn’t hurt but he was just going to have to get used to it. Felix wanted to hurry but walking with a sluggish Jisung made things more difficult. They were in a strange forest with no idea of the creatures that could be hiding in the dark. After walking for quite some time, Felix carried Jisung on his back so he could relax a little bit and save his strength, especially with the sun now setting. The kitchen witch panted, his muscles now getting sore. Luckily, they stumbled across a cottage. It was pretty old-fashioned looking, but the place didn’t look abandoned.

“Do you think the witches would live there?” Jisung asked, getting off Felix’s back and hopping down to his side.

“Only one way to find out,” Felix smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

The nocturnal witch and lunar witch had woken up a little early that evening, planning on going to the fae marketplace to get some groceries before it closed. They were drinking coffee and talking when there was suddenly a knock at the door. Minho went to get it, with reluctance of course.

He unlocked the door and opened it mumbling to himself. “It’s too early in the evening for this— OW MY EYES!” 

Minho shut his eyes and slapped his hand over his lids, hissing in pain. It hurt. Like going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and turning on the light only to immediately be blinded by how bright it is.

Changbin went over to check out what all the commotion was about and Minho, still hunched over, walked away to deal with his eyes.

“Oh, you two must be missionaries,” Changbin said while glaring at two boys who were standing outside the door.

“Um actually-“ One of them started.

Changbin waved his hand and interrupted them. “Am I happy with the current state of things in my life? No. But honestly, who is? Would I like for you to leave and never come back? Yes, I would like that a lot. Have a nice day. Hail Satan and all that.”

The lunar witch shut the door in their faces and went over to Minho, asking him what happened and trying to see if he was okay.

  
  


Jisung and Felix stood outside, dumbfounded by what just happened.

“That one was  _ your _ soulmate, right?” Felix whispered.

“Nu-uh, only a weirdo like that would belong to you. Mine was probably the grumpy one that answered the door first. The one I blinded with my bright smile I guess,” Jisung said while showing off his wide grin.

Felix knocked on the door again. “Hello? We know you guys are in there!”

  
  


Changbin scowled at the banging on the door. But then he turned back to Minho who was starting to stand up straighter, his eyes adjusting once again.

“Who were they?” Minho breathed.

“Just some nobodies. Want me to get the hose? Or maybe we can sneak out the back door?” Changbin suggested.

“Light energy,” Minho whispered to no one in particular.

“Huh?”

“Light energy. Remember when I told you about Ms. Choi telling me something about a source of light magic? I think one of them out there is the source,” Minho explained.

Changbin groaned. “Well what are we supposed to do about it? We need to get groceries soon.”

Minho frowned. He hadn’t the slightest idea how they were supposed to go about this either. “If one is a source of light magic, they’re definitely not human. Do you think they could be other witches?”

“I hope not. You get… nervous around other witches Minho,” Changbin said in a more soft tone, knowing how it could possibly bring up some trauma for the older.

“How about I just go get groceries for us? Just write me a list. While I’m gone you can see what the other two want,” Minho suggested.

Changbin didn’t like the idea of letting some strangers hang around his cottage, but considering how serious Minho sounded, he couldn’t help but agree to it. The lunar witch got out a pen and paper, scribbling down the items he wanted before giving the list to Minho.

“Be back soon,” The younger said.

Minho gave him a small smile. “I will.”

  
  


Felix and Jisung almost jumped when the door flew open again. It was the witch that had previously told them to get lost.

“Alright, I’ll hear you two out,” Changbin grumbled while closing the door behind him.

The lunar witch plopped down on a chair placed on the porch and eyed the two, arms folded across his front.

“Well then... I guess we should introduce ourselves. I’m Felix and I’m a kitchen witch,” The light-blue haired one said.

“And I’m Jisung, a diurnal witch,” The one with ash-blonde hair said, his voice somewhat wavering with fatigue.

“Ah, a diurnal witch. No wonder you blinded my hyung,” Changbin frowned.

Jisung giggled, “In my defense I didn’t know my smile would blind him. Sure it’s bright for some, but that’s the first time it’s ever had that much of an effect.”

Changbin shifted his eyes to Felix unamused.

“So what are you doing here and how did you find us?” He questioned.

Felix smiled, already having a lie ready in his head. “We’ve actually heard about you and your hyung and wanted to come see you guys. Talk about magic and stuff.”

The lunar witch raised his eyebrow. “Is that all?”

“Pretty much. But we also came a long way here and my friend is diurnal so he’ll probably pass out any second. You think we could crash here for the night?” Felix asked as if they were casual friends.

A sea of red flags were waving in Changbin’s head. How was he supposed to trust these two witches he’d never met inside his cottage? Possibly messing with things that were important to Changbin, especially things that belonged to his family.

“Please? We don’t have anywhere else to go,” Felix pleaded, giving the lunar witch puppy eyes.

Changbin was annoyed by how easily he caved in at that. He reluctantly got out of the chair and opened the door, bringing the other witches inside.

“Don’t. Touch. Anything,” Changbin growled.

As soon as they got to the living room, Jisung saw a couch and he immediately walked over to it, flopping on the piece of dark blue velvet furniture and going to sleep.

“Your kitchen is so sad!” Felix gasped, running over to the area. Changbin followed closely behind him, worried the other would break something.

“Your oven is so old! And is that a food mill? What are we living in, the 20th century?!” The kitchen witch shrieked.

“I didn’t invite you in here just to complain about my kitchen,” Changbin scowled.

Felix looked at him and motioned to the whole room with his arms. “But don’t you see? This is a crisis!”

“Can you stop shouting? And how is your friend sleeping through all your yapping?” 

“Oh once Jisung’s asleep, he’s out cold. I could throw his body against the wall and he’d probably still sleep through it,” Felix shrugged.

Changbin rubbed his temples and went over to the kitchen table, sitting down. Felix followed him, sitting on the opposite side.

“So where did the other witch go?” Felix asked.

“He went to make a grocery run. He’s actually pretty sensitive around any other witch besides me,” Changbin revealed.

Felix nodded, understanding that he shouldn’t press forward about that. “So what do you study? Magic wise?”

Changbin’s body loosened a little bit, no longer feeling as tense. “I mainly study this forest. This place has a lot of diverse organisms, and it’s dark energy as well as it’s behaviors are really complex.”

Felix sucked in a breath. He remembered what Jeongin had said earlier to him about the boy in his future. How he would study the dark forest and has lived there just like previous generations in his family before him. It really sunk in for Felix that this witch really could be that boy.


	10. Chapter 10

Jeongin and Seungmin were alert the whole time they had to walk by humans. By looks, it wasn’t like any of the humans could tell that they were different, but they just wanted to be careful and try their best not to stand out. That’s why the two witches did their best to keep their distance away from people, just in case.

They made their way to a boardwalk, it already being night and the moon being present in the sky. There was a beach but the area was closed. However, Jeongin and Seungmin were able to slip past security. In the meantime as least.

“This must be the place,” Seungmin breathed.

The sight of the moonlight hitting the sea making the waters glisten was something that almost looked too good to be real. 

“Yup,” Jeongin sighed.

They were tired, but continued to press on. Walking across the sand and trying to see if they could see anyone.

“Could he be in the water?” Seungmin asked.

“I’m not sure, do you know any water breathing spells?” Jeongin replied.

The art witch shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t.”

They were approaching towards the end of the beach and all that was left to the side were a bunch of rocks lined from the land out to the water.

“Are we at the right beach Innie?” Seungmin asked once they stood near the rocks.

“I’m sure we are. The energy leading us here is really strong right now. I swear he’s around here somewhere,” Jeongin mumbled.

The divination witch looked at the rocks and walked towards where they started. He walked on top of them, making his way further to the water.

“Be careful! You could slip!” Seungmin warned.

The younger kept stepping on the rocks, almost losing his balance a few times. He almost got to the end when he saw the slightest bit of blonde hair in his peripheral vision. Jeongin turned his head to the side, stepping in that direction and getting a better view of the person the hair belonged to.

It was a boy, leaning against the rocks with the lower half of his body submerged in the water. He was looking down and reading a book. His blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail with a few wisps of hair falling in his face. He wore a seafoam blue kimono robe with seashell decals on the sides. He had pearls on his ears, and a thin silver chain around his neck.

“Excuse me?” Jeongin said softly.

The blonde snapped his head up and his eyes widened, his plump lips parting in shock.

“Wait wait, I’m not here to hurt you I swear,” Jeongin stressed, sitting down on the rock he was previously standing on. “I just wanted to talk to you.”

He eyed Jeongin suspiciously, but closed the book in his hands, nodding for the other to go on.

“I’m Jeongin and I’m a divination witch,” He smiled.

“I’m Hyunjin...” The other spoke. “And did you just say witch?”

“Yup!” 

Hyunjin bit his lip and stared at the sea, then back at the other.

“How do I know you’re not lying?” He asked the younger.

Jeongin gave Hyunjin a bored expression, resting his elbows on his thighs and putting his chin in his hands. “Well as a divination witch I already know quite a few things about you. You’re a witch yourself, and you have a strong connection with the sea. You’ve been raised in this environment all your life, yet you’ve felt out of place. Oh! You were also raised by seven sea creatures.”

Hyunjin gawked at his words, realizing how scarily accurate they were. “H-how did you know all of that?” He stuttered.

Jeongin gave him a sly smile and got back up on his feet, standing on the rock. “I read someone’s future. And that person is actually here right now. Wanna go meet them?”

Hyunjin didn’t respond, still too shocked to give him an answer. 

“Well it’s up to you,” Jeongin shrugged while walking away on the rocks. 

After a few moments he could hear splashing in the water, meaning that the sea witch was most likely following him. The divination witch made his way back to Seungmin and hopped off the last rock.

“Did you find him?” Seungmin asked worriedly.

Jeongin smirked and pointed to the water. Out from the sea came a tall figure whose skin glowed against the moonlight. He looked ethereal, walking their way while the water level lowered around him, revealing the full length of his robe. His body dripped with water, and his bright eyes stared directly at the two.

Seungmin held in his breath, eyes widening as he came closer.

“Hyunjin, I’d like you to meet Seungmin! He’s an art witch,” Jeongin introduced.

Hyunjin gave a slight bow and met Seungmin’s big brown eyes. “Nice to meet you Seungmin.”

  
  


They all sat down at the beach, resting on the soft sand. Jeongin did most of the talking while Seungmin would just steal glances at the sea witch, staying quiet for the most part.

“So Hyunjin, do you know any other witches? Specifically any witches fond of music?” Jeongin had asked.

Luckily for him, a music-loving witch was the only witch Hyunjin knew. “Yeah, I know a music witch named Bang Chan. He comes here pretty often to visit me. But today was his brother’s birthday so he won’t be here tonight.”

“I see,” Jeongin nodded. “Do you know when he’ll be here again?”

The elder shrugged. “Chan usually comes here whenever he’s not busy. He knows where to find me though.”

“Okay then. Well me and Seungmin would like to meet him as soon as possible if that’s alright.”

“Yeah that’s cool. I’m sure he would really like to meet you guys. We talk about witch stuff with each other all the time,” Hyunjin admitted.

“Great! Not to be intrusive or anything, but do you live mostly in the water or on land?” Jeongin asked.

“When I was younger I would spend much more time in the water. But jeez was it kinda annoying. I can only stay down there a few hours before I need to come back for air and spend a few minutes to recharge my strength so I can go back in. I guess now I spend more time up here. Since I’m more independent and all.”

“So do you see your family often?” Seungmin added in, breaking his quiet streak.

“Yeah, I basically eat every meal with them. And if I didn’t then my hyungs would get really worried,” Hyunjin said.

After a while they all decided to go their separate ways, Seungmin and Jeongin getting tired. The two witches decided that they would find some hotel in the city to stay at, but first they had to run to the bank and try to somehow convert their gold coins into human currency.

“We’ll come back tomorrow night then,” Jeongin waved.

“Okay. Night Jeonginnie! Night Seungminnie!” Hyunjin shouted back.

While walking to the boardwalk Jeongin couldn’t help but notice Seungmin blushing bright red, probably from the nickname Hyunjin had given him.

“So,” the divination witch smirked, “I’m guessing you like him?”

“No,” Seungmin mumbled weakly, causing the other to laugh.

“That’s a shame. Especially because you have a future with him,” Jeongin giggled.

Seungmin swatted his arm. “Don’t say it like that! You make it sound like me and him are going to get married.”

“Well why not? It could always happen.”

The two were silent for a moment, Seungmin taking in a deep breath.

“Innie, before this journey I had no intentions of ever dating someone in my life, let alone fall in love with anyone. And the fact that I have a person like Hyunjin just showing up in my life like that, destined to be with me is just so hard to believe. I mean, I have confidence in your fortune telling, but what if you’re wrong this time? What if you misinterpreted some things and I don’t get together with Hyunjin?”

The divination witch bit the inside of his cheek, letting the other’s words sink in.

“Well, the good thing about the future is that you're guaranteed to get confirmation later on. I’m not saying that what I told you is one hundred percent perfect without error, but the future is inevitable. You’ll see just how things will play out when it’s time.”


	11. Chapter 11

Changbin talked with Felix for quite a while about magic and studies. He had learned that the kitchen witch owned his own bakery back home and sold plain sweets, magical sweets, and potions. But he also has a passion for cooking alongside baking, constantly focusing on those.

Throughout the conversation, he could see that Felix was getting tired and he kept asking if Felix wanted to move to the couch and sleep, but the younger kept protesting with half-lidded eyes. His head rested on his arms that were folded on the table, and he kept telling Changbin to continue talking to him. It wasn’t until Changbin went on a tangent about some crystal did Felix finally close his eyes and drift off to sleep. The lunar witch stopped in the middle of a sentence, noticing this. He got up and went inside a storage closet, getting a fluffy blanket from off the shelf. He went over to the kitchen witch and draped it around him, covering his shoulders.

Someone cleared their throat from the other side of the room. Changbin’s eyes flicked over to him and he froze in his tracks.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” Changbin blurted.

Minho quirked an eyebrow and grinned. “Oh it’s exactly what it looks like.”

Changbin shot him a glare and stepped away from Felix, going over to the older.

“When did you get back? We really gotta put a bell on you or something,” Changbin sneered.

“Just now,” Minho said, “I’m guessing both of the witches are out for the night?”

“Yep. I forgot how weird it is that we’re nocturnal,” Changbin admitted.

Minho went out to do some work while Changbin stayed to keep an eye on the other witches. He sat at the kitchen table across from Felix, studying some of his books and writing down notes. He realized he needed something from his room, so he went upstairs to go fetch it. While searching for it, he heard footsteps approach the door. There was Felix sleepily standing in the door frame, blue hair slightly ruffled and the fluffy blanket still wrapped around him. The kitchen witch yawned.

“You know, I never got your name,” Felix said.

Changbin stared at him for a second, puzzled why he would come all the way upstairs just to ask that. “It’s Changbin. And the other witch’s name is Minho.”

“Changbin is a pretty name,” Felix mumbled nonchalantly.

The kitchen witch made his way around the other’s room, looking at his shelves while the owner of the room narrowed his gaze at him. What was this guy’s deal?

“I never said you could come in here,” Changbin hissed.

“But you never said that I  _ couldn’t  _ come in here, now did you?” Felix retorted.

Changbin rolled his eyes, not even wanting to argue with him. Felix gazed at Changbin’s books but then something next to the items caught his eye. There was a tray stationed on top of a desk. There were bottles of different types of potions ranging from all different colors. Felix frowned.

“Your potions are so boring,” Felix commented.

Changbin snapped his head towards the younger. “Excuse me?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen such potions so by the book before. It’s all so perfect. Where’s the personality in that?” 

Changbin was speechless, not understanding what the other was going on about. The lunar witch stiffened. “Potions don’t need personality. They’re not living things.”

Felix gave him an annoyed look and sighed. “The last thing you want is for your magic to become boring and lifeless. Don’t you ever experiment?”

“No?” Changbin replied in more of a question.

The kitchen witch shook his head in disappointment. “Magic isn’t that strict you know. Sometimes you have to try a lot of different things to see what works. Like this for example,” He said pointing to a sparkly gold potion. “That’s a potion of courage, right?”

Changbin nodded, curiously listening in.

“You followed the recipe exactly to a tee, liquid gold color and all. But where’s the fun in that? If you were to add a pinch of salt and a little bit of rose water, you could make the potion more potent. It would be more strong and last for longer. Sure the color might turn a little lighter, but it’ll work even better.”

“And how do you know all this?” 

Felix gave him a small smile, his tired eyes forming into crescents. “Because I experiment.”

  
  


As soon as the sun started to come up, Jisung got up and rubbed his eyes, stretching his arms and his back.

“Man this couch is comfortable,” He yawned.

He looked around the unfamiliar living room, but soon remembered last night’s events. He didn’t see Felix or the lunar witch so he decided to reach in his backpack he had thrown on the floor and pulled out the light mirror. He opened it up, thinking about Jeongin. His reflection soon turned into a view of a hotel room, revealing Jeongin sprawled over one of the beds while Seungmin slept in the other.

“Jeonginnie, wake up~” Jisung sang.

The younger gripped his pillow tighter but tilted his head toward the light, seeing that Jisung was calling him.

“Is something wrong?” Jeongin grumbled.

“Nope. Just wanted to check in on you guys. Oh! And by the way I think we found the two witches we were looking for. I didn’t get too good of a look at them, but Felix is with one of them right now.”

Jeongin sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. “That’s good. Me and Seungmin think we found one of the witches last night. And we might meet the fourth witch tonight if luck is on our side.”

“Yay! But um, when do we tell them about why we’re exactly looking for them? You know, all that danger stuff?” Jisung asked.

“I would say wait a few days to try and observe them so we really know it’s them. And maybe try to even befriend them. That’ll be beneficial for their trust in us so we can bring them to the safe realm,” Jeongin answered.

“Okay! I’ll call later to check in again.”

“Sounds good, bye.”

Jisung snapped the mirror shut and slipped it back into his bag. He was about to intrude into the kitchen and try to get a glass of water for himself when the front door opened. The diurnal witch met face to face with Minho.

“Hey,” Minho said awkwardly, closing the door.

Jisung didn’t like the atmosphere between them at all. But he couldn’t smile to brighten things up because he didn’t want to hurt the other again.

“Hey! Sorry for blinding you earlier. I didn’t mean to,” Jisung apologized.

“It’s fine. I’ve just never seen a person so bright before. Not many people smile like you in the dark forest,” He admitted. “Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

Jisung instantly got up, trying his hardest to hold back a wide smile. “Yes please. I’m parched!”

While Jisung sipped on some water and some orange juice the nocturnal witch had given him, Minho was busy cooking. Jisung noticed how whenever he would get close to him, the nocturnal witch would step away, avoiding being within arms length of him. Jisung wanted to know why that was, but decided not to say anything.

“So what were you out doing?” Jisung asked.

“Well first after you fell asleep, I went to a market place. And then later I just did some work. Then I went to the creek to visit my cat spirits,” Minho said.

Jisung was getting bored until that cat part. “You have cat spirits?! That’s so cool, what are they like?”

Minho laughed dryly. “Well they’re not exactly mine but I like to think they are. There’s three of them, all girls. They’re very cute and affectionate.”

Jisung loved the way Minho’s eyes lit up when he talked about the cat spirits. Minho understandably had a dark aura around him. At first he could look very cold, intimidating almost. But once the witch smiled, all of that was thrown out the window. Jisung was fascinated.

“Hey Minho hyung,” Changbin asked while walking into the kitchen, “Do you have enough food for all of us?”

“Of course,” The older answered.

Three of them sat down and ate rice with kimchi stew while Minho chose to sit down and eat on the couch. 

Felix basically inhaled the food in a few minutes. 

“Woah slow down, are you really that hungry?” Changbin stressed.

Felix swallowed his last bite. “Do you have any baking ingredients?”

Changbin squinted his eyes at him. “What?”

“Baking ingredients. You know, flour, sugar, eggs, that sort of deal?”

“I mean I guess. But why do you need all that?”

Felix gave a playful grin as he stood up from his seat and rummaged through the kitchen cabinets. This made Changbin grind his teeth together in anger, but it seemed like the kitchen witch wasn’t breaking anything yet. In fact, Felix looked like he was right in his element. The way he moved with such grace while baking is something Changbin had never seen before. The younger had a smile on his face the whole time, adding and mixing things in a bowl. All of a sudden Felix left and then came back with a small vial filled with a purple liquid inside. Changbin watched suspiciously as Felix shaped all of the dough into balls, but for one of them he put a drop of the purple liquid inside before kneading it in and placing it with the others.

By the time everyone was done with eating, Felix took a sheet of four cookies out of the oven and let them cool off on a plate. He brought them over to the table and smiled.

“Ready to play cookie roulette?” He exclaimed.

Changbin exchanged glances with Minho who was over by the sink putting his empty bowl in. They both looked confused.

“You guys have never played cookie roulette before? It’s really fun! It’s like truth or dare but better,” Jisung said.

Felix set down the cookies on the plate and with the flick of his hand, the cookies magically shuffled around the plate for a little bit. When they stopped, Felix sat down on his chair and grinned.

“The game’s really simple. I made a cookie for each of us. Three of them are normal while one contains a truth serum. Since I shuffled them, we all have a chance of getting the one with the truth serum. After eating, we’ll ask questions to each other and see who got it. And then, we’ll abuse that opportunity,” Felix explained before letting out a low maniacal laugh.

Changbin narrowed his gaze at the kitchen witch. “I’m not gonna play this game-“

“There's no way out of it~” Felix sang in a cheery voice.

“Yeah! The more people the better. Come here Minho,” Jisung said while motioning to the other.

The nocturnal witch warily approached the table, standing behind Changbin’s chair.

“Alright everyone, grab a cookie!” Felix chirped.

Everyone took one and bit into it. None of the cookies tasted off, the truth serum being really well hidden.

“How do we know if it works?” Minho asked.

“Observe,” Felix said, turning to face Jisung. “Sung, what age did you stop wetting the bed?”

The diurnal witch scoffed at him. “Four years old.”

“Now see, that right there was a lie. Jisung didn’t stop wetting the bed until he was eight years old,” Felix smirked.

“Yah! No I didn’t! Stop making things up!” Jisung sputtered.

Changbin and Minho laughed, actually now seeing the point in this game. It was a little fun.

“Now you two try. One of you ask a question to the other,” Felix directed.

“I have one,” Changbin said. “Minho, do you secretly sing and dance in your room when you think I’m not home?”

Minho glared at him, holding back a snarl. “Of course I don’t.”

Changbin chuckled and turned to the other two. “That’s a lie. I caught him last week practically doing a full on concert in his room.”

Minho huffed and crossed his arms. “Okay Mr. Seo,” He mocked, “What do you think about Felix then? Do you like him?”

Changbin’s eyes widened and he stayed silent. Minho smirked. “C’mon Changbin, say something~ You’ve got nothing to hide, right?”

Changbin deeply inhaled. “Felix’s freckles are more beautiful than all of the stars and constellations in the universe. His baking and magic skills are incredible and he takes my breath away with his deep voice,” He said all in one breath. 

The lunar witch slapped a hand over his mouth. Minho was bent over dying with laughter, Jisung just sat there with his jaw-dropped, and Felix was smiling but was also kind of flustered.

“Now if you excuse me I’m going to my room. If any of you guys check on me, I’m going to pretend that I’m asleep,” Changbin muttered in a dazed state.

When Changbin left Minho finally stood up straight and his laughter died down. “That was awesome! Great job Felix for letting us play this game!”

The kitchen witch nodded and stuck out his hand, ready to high-five Minho. The nocturnal witch’s smile dropped as he stared at the other’s hand. A small glint of fear flashed in his eyes.

“I-I’m just... gonna go to bed too,” Minho stuttered while holding his arms close to his body.

He promptly left after saying that and Felix and Jisung sat there confused.

“Does my hand look weird or something?” Felix asked while showing his palm to Jisung.

The other shook his head. “I think I have a feeling that Minho doesn’t like to touch others. He seems to get close to Changbin but not us.”

“Strange. Maybe he’s a germaphobe?”

Jisung shrugged it off, knowing that he’s just going to have to ask about it later. Theorizing about things wouldn’t get them anywhere.

“Wait, you turned off their oven right?” Jisung asked.

Felix’s eyes widened and he jumped out of his seat. “AAAHHHH,” He screamed while running to turn it off.

As good of a baker Felix was, there was always one thing in particular that slipped his mind almost half the time. Forgetting to turn off the oven.


	12. Chapter 12

While strolling down the beach, Chan brought his usual items when he would visit Hyunjin. Laptop in hand, a nice big blanket in his bag to sit on, and a few snacks with some cold drinks. It wasn’t until he got closer to the usual spot where Chan froze. He could see two others on the beach, talking to Hyunjin. He had never seen Hyunjin talk to any other land creatures besides Chan, nor did he mention anything about them.

“Hey guys!” Chan walked up to all of them, trying his best to sound cheerful. Over time, Chan found himself getting protective of Hyunjin like he would for his own little siblings. He didn’t know who the others were and what their intentions were with the sea witch.

“Hey Chan hyung! Meet Seungmin and Jeongin. They’re witches just like us,” Hyunjin smiled.

Chan looked over at Seungmin and gave him an unsure look. But as soon as Chan’s eyes turned to Jeongin’s, his expression softened.

“Oh my god you look like the cutest being in the whole world what the heck,” Chan gasped.

The music witch set down his stuff and studied Jeongin from almost every angle. “I will protect you from any harm that comes your way,” Chan said in a serious tone.

Jeongin laughed worriedly and looked at Hyunjin. The other gave him a shrug, his face telling Jeongin to just “go along with it”. 

“So you’re Chan, the music witch?” Seungmin questioned.

“Uh huh, why? Has Hyunjin already told you guys everything about me? I’m so embarrassed,” Chan teased.

Hyunjin just rolled his eyes and stifled a laugh. “Did you bring me my banana milk this time?”

“Yeah, but since you didn’t ask nicely for it I’m giving it to Jeongin instead,” Chan said while reaching in his bag and handing a carton to Jeongin.

“Okay, I like you already,” Jeongin giggled while graciously taking the banana milk.

Hyunjin pouted and Seungmin couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit. They all sat down on Chan’s blanket and the divination witch and art witch explained the whole thing about looking for Hyunjin and Chan, but not without leaving a lot of details out.

Chan frowned, one thing still on his mind. “But why come all the way here just to talk with us? There has to be some bigger reason, right?”

He noticed as Seungmin and Jeongin’s bodies visibly stiffened. 

“We guarantee that we’re just here to learn about your guys’ powers,” Jeongin lied.

Chan knew this was false, but held his tongue. After all, he didn’t want to come off as rude to people he had just met merely half an hour ago. When they all finally hit a point where there wasn’t much else to talk about, Jeongin said that he was going to try to meditate. After all, he hadn’t gotten much of a chance to since he’s left the safe realm. While sitting next to the witch who was now levitating cross-crossed in the air, Chan opened up his laptop and checked a few things on there. He focused on making a few last minute tweaks for a song he had almost completed.

“Hey Seungminnie, do you want to walk with me on the beach?” Hyunjin suggested.

The art witch's eyes met the other’s and he gulped. Why did Hyunjin’s voice make Seungmin feel like he was gonna melt?

“I guess that would be nice,” Seungmin coughed.

The two got up together and started to head off, walking side by side. The air held a gentle, salty breeze across the land. The sand under their feet was soft, slowing down their walking pace and really letting the two enjoy the scenery. Even though Hyunjin has lived there all his life and had a connection with this sea like no other, the waters still held beauty in his eyes.

“Wow, so this is what people talk about in their dating profiles. Long walks on the beach…” Seungmin trailed off.

Hyunjin glanced over to him, the corner of his lips curling up into a small smile. “Dating profiles? Are you implying that we’re on a date right now?”

Seungmin choked on air when he heard that. His heart started to thump out of his chest and his throat went dry.

“Sorry, I was just messing with you,” Hyunjin giggled while he patted Seungmin’s back, trying to help the other’s breathing stabilize.

“No it’s okay,” Seungmin assured him, his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Hyunjin gave Seungmin one last gentle rub on his back before dropping his hand to his side. “So I’ve been meaning to ask, what do those symbols mean on your art bag?”

The art witch looked down, noting the patches he had put on there showing off magical signs.

“Oh those? They’re sigils.”

“What are sigils?” Hyunjin asked.

“They’re basically symbols charged with energy. When you carry the symbol around, that energy imprints itself into your subconscious and magically pushes you toward your desire. When the sigil is charged, the energy is sent out into the universe to manifest,” Seungmin explained.

Hyunjin’s knowledge on witchcraft was probably only the tip of the iceberg. He had never heard about these symbols until now. The fact that there were so many types of witches out there with different abilities, items, and energies was intriguing to him. He wanted to learn more, especially about Seungmin’s unique abilities.

“That’s really amazing. What desires do your sigils stand for?” The sea witch asked.

Seungmin pointed to a yellow patch on his bag. “This one one here is representative of a successful career. It also kinda stands for good fortune.” He pointed to a light blue one. “And this one represents protection. Then I also have this pink one here to stand for creativity. It helps keep me inspired for longer so I don’t burn out too easily... this is boring, isn’t it?”

“No not at all,” Hyunjin defended, “I was the one who asked you about them in the first place. Whatever you want to explain, I’ll listen to you. I’m curious.”

Seungmin pursed his lips into a thin line, trying to ignore his pulse picking up from Hyunjin’s gentle eyes which showed genuine interest in him. The art witch cleared his throat, moving on to explain what the other sigils meant.

  
  


Jeongin meditated for a little while and ultimately nothing eventful came to him, meaning nothing worth noting was going to happen soon. His body floated down until he sat back on the blanket. Chan right next to him was wearing headphones over his head, bopping slightly to the music.

The humming that Jeongin had heard that was connected with Chan still buzzed around in the back of his mind. It was interesting how the music witch had an energy at first, but then the sound of humming guided the divination witch. Chan must really love music for that type of thing to come from his soul.

Chan noticed Jeongin looking at him and the older took off his headphones, smiling at the other. “Curious to what I’m listening to?”

Jeongin nodded. The music witch put his headphones over Jeongin’s head, then tapped the play button on his laptop. The track started off with light instrumentals and the bright sound of waves washing over the shore. He heard a familiar voice start singing, immediately recognizing it as Hyunjin’s. His voice was so calm and melodic, matching perfectly with the top line. After the first chorus he heard Chan’s voice, rapping as the beat got heavier. When Jeongin got to the end of the song, he smiled, taking the headphones off.

“That was you and Hyunjin, right?” Jeongin asked.

“Yup. His voice is beautiful, isn’t it? This was actually how we connected in the first place. I needed help on this song and Hyunjin was able to give me his input. I really like the finished project,” Chan said.

The music witch shut off his laptop and then faced his body towards Jeongin. “So, how did you find out about your specialty as a witch?”

Jeongin hummed, slightly scratching the back of his neck. “Well it actually came for me earlier than most others. In school I was a child prodigy a few years ahead of my age group. I would constantly get stressed with the workload and expectations put on me. So after trying a bunch of things to calm me down, I tried meditating one day. It helped a little and everything felt fine until I there was a sensation within the deep deaths of my soul. It was like a rush of energy just hit me, and I suddenly started to levitate off the ground. And yeah, I just kind of figured out things from there.”

Chan quirked his head to the side at this. “I kind of felt the same rush of energy when I found my speciality. But you’re a divination witch right? Seeing into the future is kinda like your thing?”

“Yup,” the younger nodded, “My mind actually drifts more to the future than anywhere else really. In life, I’ve met many people whose minds are accustomed to either be stuck in the past or live in the now. And I’m neither of those things. When I meditate, I can get vague ideas of my own future.”

“Well why can’t you live in the now?” Chan questioned.

“Huh?”

“Sure it’s good to think about the future and set your mind to that, but if you do it constantly you’ll miss out on a few things in the present. I know you’re a divination witch and it’s in your nature for your magic to tell the future and all, but why can’t it be possible for you to live in the moment also?”

Jeongin picked up a handful of sand and played with it, trying to think of a good answer. “I guess I’ve never thought about it like that.”


	13. Chapter 13

Felix noticed that Changbin wore black nail polish on his fingernails. He noticed even more specifically that the polish on his nails were chipped, probably needing a repaint. And this gave Felix an idea.

“Hey Changbin, don’t you want to repaint your nails?” Felix asked from the kitchen.

Changbin looked up from the book he was reading and turned to the other. “I mean I guess I could. I didn’t even notice how chipped they were until now.”

Felix held in a giggle and continued back to cooking. Earlier that day, Felix and Jisung left the house to go explore the dark forest a little bit. Since there was daylight outside, they felt way more safe. Felix of course was going around and looking for materials that were unique to the area. He found various berries, rocks, and herbs that he stuffed in his bag for experimenting with later on. Jisung would greet all of the creatures that they would pass by. He could tell his bright aura threw quite a few of them off, but they were polite to Jisung nevertheless before walking away and carrying on with their own lives. Once the sun started to set, they went back to the cottage. Jisung passed out on the sofa again while Felix went straight to the kitchen, examining the ingredients in the fridge to see what he could make. Changbin had walked into the room with his nose in a book, completely unfazed that the kitchen witch was raiding his fridge.

Felix was finished cooking and made three bowls of bibimbap with different seasonal vegetables, beef, and some herbs for garnish. Minho came downstairs and his jaw dropped at the food.

“Dang Felix, that looks good,” He complimented.

“Thank you!” He beamed.

They all grabbed their bowls, but then Minho frowned. “What about Jisung? Isn’t he gonna eat?”

Felix pointed to the diurnal witch sleeping on the couch. “I’m not gonna wake him up and force him to eat. That dude is out cold. Plus he already ate something earlier.”

Minho walked away going to sit on the other couch Jisung wasn’t on, mumbling something about it not being fair that Jisung has to skip out on a meal.

Once everyone finished their food, Minho left to go out. While Felix cleaned up everything, Changbin went upstairs and then shortly came back to sit at the kitchen table again, actually repainting his nails black. Felix looked over his shoulder from at the sink and snorted, everything of his going to plan. 

Felix sat down at the kitchen table across from Changbin, stealing the book he was previously reading. The lunar witch gave Felix an annoyed look but didn’t say anything, just waiting there for his nails to dry. Felix made a few snarky comments at the pages he read and Changbin would either agree or argue with his statements. After a while Felix put the book down, flashing a mischievous to the other.

“Changbin, can you get me an apple from the fridge please?” The kitchen witch asked.

The lunar witch sighed and got up, fulfilling his request. He walked over to Felix and the freckled boy pouted.

“Can you wash it for me?” He blinked innocently.

Changbin scowled. “Can’t you wash your own damn apple?”

“Hey I’m your guest, you should be nicer to me. Also, I already cleaned up the whole kitchen after cooking. So the least you could do is wash it,” Felix whined.

The older reluctantly went over to the sink and ran the apple under cold water. Only, something was off. Under the running water Changbin’s black nails lightened up, turning into a bright orange color. He shut off the tap and snapped his head back at Felix.

“What did you do?” Changbin shouted, immediately knowing that this had to be the kitchen witch’s doing.

Felix burst out laughing, banging his fist against the table. “Color changing polish, isn’t it cool? It activates when you run it under water. And orange matches your midnight blue hair. As my art witch friend would say, they’re complimentary colors on the color wheel.”

Changbin gritted his teeth and threw the apple at Felix, the younger dodging it with ease.

“Why would you even mess with my stuff like that? I’m taking this off,” Changbin grumbled, staring at his orange nails in distaste.

“No, don’t take it off!” Felix protested. “Do you know how hard it was to change your nail polish without waking you up?”

The lunar witch’s eyes narrowed at him. “You went into my room while I was sleeping?!”

Felix got up from the table and stepped to the side a bit. “I said too much,” He nervously laughed. Felix ran away and booked it out the door. Changbin scoffed at the audacity of him, soon chasing after the witch.

  
  


Seungmin stretched out his arms while sitting up on the bed. His light brown haired was tousled while he tried to blink the sleepiness out of his eyes. He turned to the side, Jeongin still sleeping on the other hotel bed.

Seungmin got ready by washing his face, fixing his hair, and doing anything he could to look presentable. Once he got out the bathroom, Jeongin was sitting down on his bed criss-crossed, smiling at the art witch.

“Getting ready to see Hyunjin?” Jeongin chuckled.

The other witch just crossed his arms, trying to brush his words off.

“I’m just going to spend the day with him, that’s all. We’re going to regroup with you and Chan later,” He spoke.

“Okay, have fun~” The divination witch sang.

Going to the beach during the day was a real contrast to what it was like at night. Seungmin didn’t have to sneak by security like he had in previous times, freely going to the beach after he walked down the boardwalk. The sky was a clear blue without a cloud in the sky. The sun shone warmly on the beach, brightening up the sea water. Unlike the usual white color of the sand at night, the sand at that moment was more yellow.

Seungmin walked past a few humans while going over to the rocks. There weren’t many of those creatures there in the morning, but some were relaxing by the water fairly spaced apart. From the other day, Hyunjin had suggested to show Seungmin the underwater civilization he lived in half of the time. Seungmin didn’t understand why specifically him, but it was late at night so the art witch didn’t question him that much nor rejected the idea.

After making sure the coast was clear and no humans were watching him, Seungmin started to walk on the rocks, going to the area that Hyunjin asked him to meet him at.

“Hey Seungminnie! You actually came,” He heard a voice say.

His eyes met with Hyunjin’s, the sea witch resting his arms on a rock with half of his body still in the water.

“Um, why wouldn’t I?” Seungmin questioned.

A bright smile spread across Hyunjin’s face. “Well I was worried that I wouldn’t see you until later. I thought maybe you would’ve been occupied with something right now.”

The art witch shrugged and sat down on a rock right next to the one Hyunjin was resting on. “Well I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“Yup! So, is it okay if I cast a water breathing spell on you?” The sea witch asked.

Seungmin bit the inside of his cheek, worried about something. “If I’m going into the water, what about my art bag? Can I carry that there without my supplies getting ruined?”

“Well sure you can. I’m just gonna try a water resistance spell on it. I haven’t done that before with any objects, but I think I might have a good idea.”

The art witch handed him his most valuable possession and Hyunjin set it down in front of himself. The older held his hand on the bag and his eyes fluttered shut. After a few moments, the bag emitted a light that was the same color as the sea. Hyunjin retracted his hand and his eyes opened.

“Can I test it?” He asked Seungmin.

“Sure, just be careful,” The other said warily.

The sea witch took the bag and lowered it into the water. The bag had tiny little air bubbles around the sides of it when submerged. He took it back out and the water immediately dripped off of it, leaving the bag and all of the items inside dry. He handed it back to the other.

“Alright, now it’s your turn,” Hyunjin said while holding out his hand to Seungmin.

The art witch hesitated a little before grabbing the other’s hand, Hyunjin pulling him into the water. Seungmin yelped and grabbed on the rock to stay afloat as water splashed up to his face. Hyunjin giggled.

“Sorry, I’m just excited,” He apologized.

The art witch was startled when Hyunjin put his right hand on Seungmin’s chest directly on his heart, the sea witch also putting his left hand on his own heart. Seungmin bit his lip, trying but failing desperately to slow down his quickening heartbeat. Both of their bodies emitted a soft blue light when Hyunjin closed his eyes and focused all he could in the spell. 

“I’ve never done this spell on anyone else before. So if you can’t breathe, just go back up for air okay?” He breathed, his eyes opening to look into Seungmin‘s.

The art witch nodded. Hyunjin then smiled subtlety before putting his head under the water and sinking down. Seungmin took a deep breath above the water before doing the same.


	14. Chapter 14

When the cold water hit his face, Seungmin let go of his breath but he didn’t swallow any water. In fact, he could breathe just fine. He followed Hyunjin who was swimming down to the floor level. It felt so surreal being in water while breathing the same way you would breath in air. The two landed their feet on the sand and the sea witch turned to the other.

“Breathing’s okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, this is so weird though,” Seungmin mumbled while looking at his surroundings. 

Hyunjin found the other’s curious puppy-like expression endearing. He started to walk towards their destination while Seungmin followed him.

After walking for a while, they finally approached the underwater civilization. The buildings were built at various heights and everything looked so shiny with it’s mostly metallic color scheme. Seungmin instantly fell in love with the architecture, the grander buildings all decorated with golden and silver embellishments.

“This place is amazing,” He gawked.

Hyunjin shrugged. “It’s okay I guess. Let’s go to the library first, I’ve got to return a book.”

While walking through the area, many merpeople were swimming around and going about their busy days. Seungmin felt his skin prick, noticing something that bothered him.

“Hey, are people... glaring at us?” He asked lowly to Hyunjin.

“Sea witches don’t have the best reputation here. There’s many stories and legends about us cursing and tricking merpeople, practicing evil magic and stuff.”

The art witch frowned at this but held back his tongue, not wanting to say anything that could come off as offensive or rude about the situation. After all, Hyunjin had lived there for most of his life and was literally raised by merpeople. 

They stopped in front of a large white quartz building with huge pillars on the outside. In gold lettering it just said ‘Public Library’. When they got in, the inside was huge. There were so many levels reaching all the way up to the tall glass ceiling. Shelves of books filled up the walls as well as the numerous rows lined with more books. There was a big seating area in the front with lapis colored furniture and white tables. The two witches stopped by the front desk and a mermaid looked up from the book scanner.

“Hyunjin, how are you? Ooh, and you’ve brought another witch today?” She smiled.

“I’m doing good. This is my friend Seungmin, he’s an art witch,” He introduced.

“Very nice. You came here to change books?” The mermaid asked.

“Yeah.”

The mermaid grabbed a set of keys on the desk and swam over to the side where there was a small white door. Hyunjin made his way over as she unlocked it.

“There you go kid, knock yourself out,” She said.

Seungmin furrowed his brows. This door led to nothing more than a storage closet. There were multiple boxes on the ground and a small collection of magic books on a shelf. There couldn’t have been more than 20 books on there.

“Are those all the magic books here?” Seungmin questioned.

The sea witch nodded. “My hyungs are actually pretty good friends with the owner of this library. Before they had no magic books but when I came along, they managed to scavenge some for me. They keep it in here because other people would probably freak out if they saw me getting magic books.”

Seungmin skimmed the books that they had. Most of them were old by the looks of it, covers made of leather that was getting worn on the edges. “So there’s no other books?”

“Nope. I’ve read all of them multiple times. These were all the books the library was able to get their hands on.”

While Hyunjin pulled out a magic book from the pocket of his robe and placed it back on the shelf, looking at the rest and deciding which one he should pick up again next, Seungmin remembered what Jeongin told him days ago when he read his future. He spoke about a boy raised in an environment where he felt out of place. While on the outside Hyunjin seemed fine, he knew the older longed for acceptance. He was different from the merpeople who lived there, and he probably still felt a little discomfort on the inside when people looked at him like he was some sort of danger walking among them. Seungmin glanced back at the old magic books. He swore to himself that once they got to the safe realm, he’d make sure to bring Hyunjin to the library there so he can read as many magic books his heart desires.

  
  


“After I change clothes, we can go back to the surface to get some air in our lungs before we run out,” Hyunjin said.

They walked down a street which held a neighborhood of different houses. Hyunjin stopped at one and walked up to the door, Seungmin walking beside him.

“So just a warning, my hyungs can be a little... extra. So please don’t mind them. Even if they say anything strange,” The sea witch smiled apologetically.

“I think I’ll be able to handle it. I have friends who are very extra too,” Seungmin assured him.

Hyunjin’s hyungs usually left the door open for the witch, so he turned the door and pulled it open. There in the walkway just swimming by was Jackson. The merman looked at the open door and immediately stopped. His eyes got big as saucers and he put his hands up to his mouth. 

“Guuuuyyyyysss!” Jackson shouted and quickly swam into the living room.

Seungmin nervously hid behind Hyunjin while the sea witch followed after Jackson to the living room. There on the couch was Youngjae and Mark playing video games together. They paused it, looking up at Jackson who was starting to act frantic.

“Hyunjin! He brought a boy home!” Jackson exclaimed. He was startled when he caught Hyunjin in the corner of his eye, the witch’s arms crossed against his chest.

“Jackson hyung, it’s not-“

“HYUNJIN BROUGHT A BOY HOME?!” BamBam belted.

Youngjae swam up from his seat, almost having a heart attack. “Where did you even come from?”

“That is not important information,” BamBam smirked, “What’s important is that Hyunjin here has a boyfriend. How long have you been keeping this a secret from us Jinnie?”

“Hyung, he’s not my-“

Once again, Hyunjin got interrupted. “BOYFRIEND? Ooh, I’m telling~” Yugyeom laughed while swimming upstairs.

Youngjae’s brows furrowed and his mouth hung open. “And where did  _ he  _ even come from?” 

Mark went over to Hyunjin and patted him on the shoulder, eyes flashing to Seungmin and giving him a warm smile before looking back at the sea witch. “Hyunjin, we just want you to know that we all love and accept you and your boyfriend.”

Hyunjin removed Mark’s hand from his shoulder, giving him an exasperated look. “Mark hyung, Seungmin is not my boyfriend.” He then leaned in closely to the merman’s ear and whispered, “But I do kind of like him. Just don’t tell the others.”

Mark gave him a slight smirk but nodded, keeping the other’s secret safe. 

“I was planning on sleeping in today. What’s so important?” Jaebum mumbled while Yugyeom dragged him by the arm.

“That! Right there,” Yugyeom pointed.

Jaebum blinked his sleepy eyes and stared at Hyunjin and Seungmin standing there. “Hyunjin brought someone over?” He guessed.

“Not just anyone hyung! His boyfriend,” Yugyeom stressed.

“Where is Jinyoung? He should be here for this,” Jackson said.

“He’s out grocery shopping,” Youngjae answered.

“You know what everyone?” Jaebum grumbled, “Just leave Hyunjin and his guest alone. I’m going back to bed.”

Hyunjin let out a sigh and looked behind him at the art witch. “See what I mean? I’m sorry about them.”

Seungmin straightened his posture and shook his head, trying to get rid of the warm tingling sensation on his cheeks. “No they’re fine. Didn’t you come here to get changed?”

“Oh that’s right,” Hyunjin said. He ran a hand through his blonde hair and stared at his hyungs left in the room just having their own chat now. “I need to go upstairs for that though. You fine coming with me?”

Seungmin nodded. They both walked further into the house and instead of a staircase, they just swam to the second level. The hallways were filled with two bedrooms on each side and a bathroom at the very end. They went into the room farthest on right. 

“This is just Youngjae hyung’s room now, but I used to share it with him. That’s why a lot of my stuff is kept here,” Hyunjin explained while opening up a closet.

“You used to sleep here? How?” Seungmin asked, surprised.

Hyunjin chuckled dryly, “I would sleep for about 2-3 hours and then leave to go back to the surface and get some air. Then I’d go back down and go back to sleep. That’s how I slept for most of my life before I was more independent.”

“That sounds awful,” Seungmin frowned but then shut his mouth. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have judged your situation like that.”

Hyunjin picked out a white silk kimono robe from the rack and turned back to Seungmin. “You don’t have to say sorry. I promise, you’re fine.”

Hyunjin took off the clothing hanger from the robe and put it back up. “I’ll be right back, wait here.”

When Hyunjin came back and put his old robe away, he noticed Seungmin staring at something hanging on the wall. 

“Is that an amulet?” Seungmin asked him, gazing around the aquamarine gem in the middle.

“Yeah. It’s actually mine but I don’t wear it a lot. Jinyoung hyung said it was next to me when he found me.”

“When he found you?” Seungmin questioned while tilting his head to the side slightly.

Hyunjin smiled, noting the other’s cute habit. “I don’t remember it, but my hyungs found me when I was really little. I think on a dare, BamBam and Yugyeom went all the way to the beach. Being the dumb teenagers they were at the time, of course they followed through with it. But then they saw me on the beach, crying near the water on a rainy night. My two hyungs went to get the others and they all came back. At first, they thought I was human and yet they tried all they could to calm me down despite that. But then when I stopped crying, the waves calmed down and the rain started to clear up. I guess they knew then that I must’ve been a sea witch, hearing a few things about them in stories. Jackson hyung asked around a lot to figure out how to handle me, and his friend who was the library owner found a spell book. So my hyungs brought the book over and that’s when I learned how to do my first spell. They just took me in when I was able to breathe in water, carrying me back and forth between the sea and land until I could do it myself.”

Hyunjin grabbed the aquamarine amulet and held it in his palm. “I’m guessing that this must’ve belonged to one of my biological parents.”

“So you were abandoned,” Seungmin stated barely above a whisper.

“Yeah. But I have a great family here so it doesn’t really matter,” Hyunjin said with a weak smile. “And I’m glad I met you, and Chan and Innie. You’re the only witches I know and being around you guys makes me feel less lonely.”


	15. Chapter 15

The sound of pots and kitchen utensils clinking filled Changbin’s kitchen. Both the lunar witch and nocturnal were asleep for the day which meant that the other two witches there were awake. Changbin no longer felt anything towards Felix when the younger messed with his kitchen, realizing that Felix was most happy when he was in there. So he let it slide, and even let Felix make whatever he wanted even if Changbin was out of the cottage or sleeping. And he liked the fact that the younger always cleaned up after he cooked. When Minho would cook, Changbin would always be stuck with dishes.

“So you’re actually cooking that ‘best dish in history’ for your soulmate?” Jisung asked while looking over Felix’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” He giggled. “I know he really likes meat, so I’m trying something out with pork.”

The diurnal witch hummed and then went to sit at the kitchen table. He still held his usual bright smile, but then he remembered someone who previously got blinded by it. Minho. Jisung thought that he was supposed to be his soulmate, but now he was thinking about how maybe that was wishful thinking before he had even met the guy. Jeongin was right, Minho was Jisung’s opposite. The nocturnal witch even had opposite sleep schedules from him, really only interacting with each other shortly at dawn. Sure Jisung thought Minho was cute, but he didn’t have the highest hopes that the older felt the same way about him.

“Felix?” Jisung beckoned.

“Yeah?” The kitchen witch hummed.

“I know we got excited over the soulmates thing, mostly to annoy Jeongin and Seungmin, but do you feel like you and Changbin could actually be together?” 

Felix lifted the lid on one of the pots and stirred the contents inside. “Sure, why not? Maybe it could happen. I like teasing him because his reactions are always funny, but I guess I do it to mess with his head. He’s fun to be around despite being such a damn perfectionist.”

Jisung’s smile dropped a little. Usually the diurnal witch was a ball of sunshine, able to brighten anyone’s day and send good vibes their way, always looking on the bright side of things. But the more he thought about it, he realized that Minho and him might as well have been strangers at this point, Felix and Changbin being way more close compared to them.

“I just...” Jisung paused, trying to collect all of his thoughts correctly. “Minho’s personality is so closed off even when I talk to him. Plus he always keeps his distance from me. Like how am I supposed to know if we have a connection if we barely interact?”

“It’s kinda hard given how different you guys are. You think Minho would open up at a heart to heart or something?”

“Maybe...” Jisung trailed off. Then he straightened up, an idea popping up into his head. “Can I ask you a favor, Lix?” 

“Sure, anything,” He replied.

“Do you think you could make me a potion of energy? So I can stay up all night?”

Felix gave him a smug look. “I guess your jealousy of me and Changbin being the cuter couple has finally caught up to you huh?”

“Well, yes actually,” Jisung admitted.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you get your man. I just need to grab some things from outside. Watch that pot of marinade for me, alright?” 

Felix grabbed his backpack and promptly left, going to run out and find some wild tea leaves.

  
  


That night was the first quarter phase of the moon, and Changbin needed to refill his water supply of moon water under that phase, the liquid useful for potions related to luck and healing. Of course Felix followed him around when the older told him what he was going to do. While Changbin carried a big jug of spring water with a bag of emeralds and basil, Felix followed him wanting to be part of the action too. 

“Won’t you be tired? I’m gonna be meditating all night.” Changbin said.

Felix skipped right next to him, a grin etched on his face. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

Changbin sighed, just focused now on getting up to the hill. Felix stopped. “Actually you go up there without me. I wanna find something.”

The lunar witch quirked an eyebrow at him. “You’re fine being by yourself this late at night?”

“Nope! But if I’m in danger I’ll just scream. I’m sure you’ll hear me and come get me,” Felix giggled before running off.

Changbin watched as Felix went away while grabbing a moon crystal from his backpack, using its charged light to find his way through the dark. Changbin wasn’t even annoyed at this point, he just wanted the younger to be careful.

Changbin set his jug of water next to him. He placed the basil and emeralds next to the glass, the items helping Changbin’s intentions to infuse into the water. The lunar witch relaxed while sitting criss-crossed, letting the moonlight shine on his skin. Changbin probably got 20 minutes of peace before he heard footsteps coming up behind him. The lunar witch’s eyes snapped to the person but it was just Felix. The kitchen witch was beaming, holding a bouquet of dark purple peonies in his hand.

“That’s what you were trying to find?” Changbin asked, confused.

“Yup! Don’t you think they’re pretty? I got them for you. Of course I made sure to cut them properly so they could grow back just fine,” He said.

The lunar witch swallowed the lump in his throat, suddenly feeling shy in front of the other. No one has ever gotten him flowers before. Heck, no one’s ever looked at Changbin the same way Felix looked at him.

When Changbin hesitated, Felix interpreted Changbin’s face of shock as more confusion. “Remember, when we were talking about purple rose water earlier? You were complaining how hard it was to find those flowers and how expensive they were at the market. So I found you purple peonies. They’re a good substitute.”

And there it was. Changbin snapped back into reality. He shouldn’t have let himself get so flustered over such a gesture. Felix sat on the ground with Changbin and pulled a measuring cup out of his backpack along with a water canister. He poured in the water and let the peonies sit in there.

“Thanks,” Changbin finally said after a while.

“You’re welcome. It’s the least I could do for turning your nails orange,” Felix snorted.

The two sat in silence, Changbin going back to meditating and Felix sitting there trying to keep his eyes open, enjoying the view of the dark forest at night. It wasn’t until Changbin felt contact on his shoulder did he break his concentration. Felix’s breathing was steadied, and he laid his head on Changbin’s shoulder. The lunar witch tried to fight the smile on his face while glancing at him. Then he went back to meditating, feeling comforted by the warmth of the kitchen witch next to him.


	16. Chapter 16

Art witches are very creative beings in tune with any method of their specialty. They are able to work well with different materials like watercolors, charcoals, and many other supplies. When the topic of sigils came up again between Seungmin and Hyunjin, the younger couldn’t help but glance at the other’s aquamarine amulet he chose to wear. He examined it, pointing out how vibrant the light blue color was, being the perfect shade for an effective protection sigil. So that’s how Seungmin ended up drawing just that onto the amulet that night. While Seungmin carefully took a thin silver pen to draw out the design, Hyunjin talked with him more about art witch’s life.

“So how did you find your specialty?” Hyunjin asked.

“Mm, I was twelve when it happened. It wasn’t anything special. I just liked art a lot as a kid and I guess my magic chose to connect itself with it.”

Jeongin perked his head up when he saw a boy with straight black hair. “There’s Chan hyung,” The divination witch pointed out.

“Woah hyung, you changed your hair. It looks good on you,” Seungmin complimented.

“Thanks,” He said with a dimpled smile. “My sister kept nagging me about how much I bleached my hair, complaining how it was getting crispy.”

Hyunjin snorted and touched the older’s now black locks. “It’s still damaged, but it’s better.”

All of them chatted and consumed the snacks and beverages he bought for everyone. Jeongin kept asking why he bought them stuff all the time and Chan just brushed it off, saying that he was the oldest and it was the least he could do. Once Seungmin was done drawing the sigil he set it down to let it dry. Chan played them all a new demo he had made, inspired by a certain Russian doll that caught his attention a few days ago. Once they all finished their snacks Seungmin laid down on his back, looking up at the stars. Hyunjin did the same, laying next to him and looking up too. While a soft melody played from Chan’s laptop, Hyunjin smiled, enjoying the atmosphere.

“Honestly this has probably been one of my most favorite days so far,” The sea witch admitted.

Seungmin turned his head to face him, the words he was going to say immediately stopping when he realized how close Hyunjin was to him.

“Today was good,” Hyunjin continued. “I got to show you around my home, you actually didn’t mind my crazy brothers like I thought you would, and I get to end off the day with spending time on the beach with my favorite witches.”

Seungmin chuckled. “We’re the only witches you know.”

“Oh, then I guess you’re right,” He snickered.

The sea witch reached out to the side and grabbed his amulet, the ink finally dry. “So how do you activate this thing again?”

“Just wear it and visualize what you want to happen. What threats you want to protect yourself from and so on. Just kind of practice that mindfulness as much as you can,” Seungmin explained.

“Do you do that with your sigils?” Hyunjin questioned.

“No,” Seungmin snorted. “It would probably be more effective if I did that but after wearing them with me for a while, I kind of forget sometimes.”

Hyunjin hummed, understanding his words. He clasped his aquamarine amulet around his neck and looked at the gem inside of it. Painted on it was the intricate metallic silver sigil making it look like a whole new item to him. Although Hyunjin rarely wore the amulet in the past, he swore that he would take care of it now as his most prized possession.

  
  


“Jeongin?” Chan asked while closing his laptop.

“Yeah?”

“Does meditation actually help? With calming down stress?” Chan asked.

The younger bit the inside of cheek while thinking. “For some people it could work. Do you want to try it?”

“Sure.”

Jeongin tried to introduce the practice to him and gave him instructions. Chan being new to it didn’t really understand it at first, getting tired of just sitting there with his eyes closed while Jeongin told him to relax different muscles.

“I think I’m done, worth a shot though,” Chan chuckled while opening his eyes.

“What made you interested in trying it in the first place? Is it just because of stress?” Jeongin asked.

Chan looked to the ground, avoiding the younger’s eyes. “I actually have insomnia. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to sleep properly. I probably haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep since I’ve come here to live in Korea. I’ve tried a bunch of different human medicines and nothing seems to work for me. I see how calm and relaxed you look while meditating and I know it’s connected to your magic, but I just hoped it would work a little bit for me too.”

“When did you come to live here again?” Jeongin questioned.

“Probably when I was thirteen,” He shrugged.

The divination witch didn’t like the sound of that. No wonder why Chan always seemed to have dark circles under his eyes. Jeongin had just assumed it had to be lighting or something since he’s only seen him at night.

“Did the move cause you a lot of stress? So much to the point where you couldn’t sleep?” He asked.

Chan nodded, mouth etched into a frown. “But it’s okay I guess. Music doesn’t help me sleep, but it does make me feel better. I guess I might never sleep the same way again, but I can live with that I guess.”

Jeongin made a mental note to try and do some research about alternative medicines or rituals that would help Chan. Maybe even ask Felix for some guidance, the freckled boy being pretty knowledgeable with the effects of certain crystals and plants. Chan was always looking out for him, so there was no reason why Jeongin couldn’t do the same.

  
  


The sun was going to set soon, and Felix finally finished up the energy potion. He put the final product in a glass cup. It was a light green bubbly liquid.

“Drink the whole thing if you want to stay energized for 12 hours,” Felix instructed.

Jisung nodded, chugging the potion. It tasted like a sweet mix of green tea and vanilla. Once done he gave it back to Felix, already feeling the magical liquid taking effect.

“Wow, I really want to run a marathon now,” Jisung laughed.

Changbin then came downstairs, mentioning to them that he was going to go to restock on some moon water. Felix basically finished up all he could in the kitchen before following Changbin out the door. After a few seconds, Minho came walking down the stairs yawning. 

“Did Felix cook anything?” He asked tiredly.

“He was doing a bunch of prep work for a meal we’re going to eat tomorrow,” Jisung said.

Minho hummed, going through the fridge to try and see what he could eat.

“Hey Minho, can I come with you to work today?” Jisung asked while jumping up and down.

Minho looked up at the younger who resembled somewhat of a hyper squirrel. “Are you okay? And aren’t you going to bed soon?”

“Nope! Felix made me an energy potion so I could stay up all night. I wanted to spend time with you since we barely ever get to,” He explained.

Minho stared back at him confused while closing the fridge door. “Why would you want to watch me work? I don’t even do much.”

“Well I’ll judge that for myself when I see you do it,” Jisung jokingly huffed.

After Minho ate his “breakfast” Jisung walked with him out the door, bouncing on the balls of his feet while the other’s steps dragged slightly. They walked further away from the center of the forest, headed for a big tree with overgrown roots.

Jisung was about to get closer to it when Minho told him to stop. “I’m going to release dark magic into the roots. Just stay there and don’t move.”

“Aww, but I won’t even be able to see what you’re doing over there,” Jisung pouted.

“Just stay there okay, it’s safer that way,” Minho furrowed his brows, giving the younger a serious look.

Jisung stood in place while Minho walked up to the roots and placed his hands on them, releasing a dark energy into the plant. Even from a good distance away, Jisung felt a little bit more tired while Minho did this, despite being on the energy potion. Minho made his way around the tree touching all of the roots with his magic until he could tell the tree was back to emitting a strong dark energy. He was going to check around the tree one more time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything before he heard a cough. His focus went on Jisung who’s hand was resting on a tree, letting out a few coughs. Minho freaked out, dark mana now accumulating in his hands from the strong sense of emotions coming over him.

“Jisung, are you okay?” Minho asked with a shaky voice.

The younger looked up and nodded with ease. “Never been better! Sorry, something got stuck in my throat.”

Minho let out a sigh of relief, the mana slowly dissipating from his hands. The nocturnal witch ran a hand through his dark brown locks, a small idea popping up in his head. Something that would surely calm down any more nerves he may have.

“Hey, you wanna see something near the creek?” Minho asked.

“You know I would!” Jisung chirped.

When Minho brought Jisung to the creek, the younger immediately lit up. A bunch of night creatures around the area. 

“Are these all animal spirits?” Jisung gasped.

“Yup. They come out during the night whenever they feel like it. It’s what happens to the animals here when they pass away. They go to the spirit realm and come here if they want to at night,” Minho explained.

Unsurprisingly, Minho felt something brush up against his leg. He looked up and smiled at the grey-ish cat purring at his feet. “Hey Dori~” He cooed.

Jisung’s heart melted at the interaction and then two smudges of orange fur crossed his field of vision. Minho was being nuzzled but three cats in total. One at his leg, one flying up to Minho and rubbing its face against his chest, and the other one up to Minho’s head burying its face in his neck.

“Wow, you guys missed me,” Minho giggled.

He noticed Jisung just standing away from him staring intently. Minho felt his face flush with embarrassment. 

“Hey um, that’s my friend Jisung over there. Go say hi to him,” He coaxed the cat spirits.

While Soonie and Doongie didn’t listen right away, Dori curiously but timidly made her was over to Jisung. The diurnal witch squatted to the ground and stuck out the back of his hand, letting the cat spirit sniff his scent. After a brief moment Dori nuzzled against his skin, purring and licking his hand.

Both witches sat on the ground. Soonie resting herself on Minho’s lap while Dori and Doongie were enjoying the head scratches Jisung was giving them.

“So these are the cats you talk so highly about. I can see why now,” Jisung said.

Minho hummed. “Yup, they always seem to find me when I come here.”

Jisung looked up at the moon high in the sky. He couldn’t remember that last time he’s even seen a moon that bright in the night sky. Minho probably hasn’t seen much of the sun clear up in the sky either. The diurnal witch’s body still kind of twitched every now and then, probably just a side effect from the energy potion.

“So I know this might not be on topic, but is it okay for me to smile in front of you? It kills me every time I need to hold it back while talking to you,” He confessed.

Minho began to stroke Soonie’s back. “I guess you really smile often then. Sure, try it. I wouldn’t want you to hold something like that back.”

The nice reassurance from Minho was enough to make Jisung smile from ear to ear. At first Minho’s eyes were blinded and he squinted them shut, reassuring the other that it was okay and to just keep continuing smiling. Minho blinked his eyes a couple of times before opening them up completely, Jisung’s smile still bright but not as painful as before. 

“I just needed to get adjusted. Now I can see your perfect smile without it straining my eyes too much,” Minho said while looking straight at the younger.

Jisung giggled in content, finally happy that he could smile and unlock his bright aura while being around the nocturnal witch. After a few moments of silence, Jisung’s smile faded away. He anxiously bounced his knee up and down while sitting on the ground.

“Actually while we’re out here, I’d like to ask you something else,” Jisung started.

Minho’s eyes flickered up to his, getting worried by his serious tone. He swallowed, “What is it?”

“Why do you never get close to me or Felix? You seem like you’re scared to touch us. Is it because we’re strangers from outside of the forest or something else?” Jisung inquired.

Minho visibly tensed and Soonie in his lap felt this, pulling herself in closer to the witch. Minho blinked his eyes a few times, trying his best to hold back the memories threatening to flood into the front of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put in Soonie, Doongie, and Dori in here because of course I’ve gotta give Minho his cats one way or another.


	17. Chapter 17

_ The darkness in his body would only get stronger with every year that passed. Minho was born as an only child to two witches, trying to blend into human society like other witches would do. But Minho from an early age stood out from the other humans, even the other witches. And when his sleep pattern was getting more nocturnal and more strict as time went on, this worried his parents. These qualities indicated that Minho would be a nocturnal witch, one of powerful dark energy. The boy was pulled out of human school, being homeschooled by his mother to accommodate Minho's inhuman sleep schedule.  _

_ By the time Minho was twelve, his powers truly solidified. His dark energy was strong, and his aura would even bring discomfort to his own parents. Minho felt like he had no control over his own body, his powers manifesting with no end.  _

_ One day Minho got into an argument with his Dad. Looking back he couldn’t even remember what the argument had been about, emphasizing how much he overreacted during what came next. A black fog surrounded the nocturnal witch’s body. Minho’s soul, filled with rage, lashed out at his Dad. He nearly suffocated him, not even being able to stop himself if he tried. Eventually his Mom ran into the room and stopped Minho, zapping him with a burning hot bolt of lightning to snap him out of it. He dropped to the ground, realizing what he had done. He looked up at his parents in terror, desperately trying to apologize for what happened. _

_ In fear that Minho’s power and energy would get out of control and be discovered by humans, he was taken away from his parents. Another witch in hiding kept Minho. She was supposed to work with Minho in fixing his unpredictable darkness. But instead, she would just isolate Minho in the basement of her house, telling him how much of a danger he was with his dark powers, how he’ll only hurt people.  _

_ A few years later, the witch holding Minho let her guard down one night, and he took the opportunity to escape. The witch chased after him and Minho hadn’t had the slightest idea of where to go, just letting the wind and his body take him wherever he could away from her. That’s when he found a dark forest and ran inside. The creatures of the night witnessed the boy running in and how distressed he was. They worked together, going to the outskirts of the woods and fighting the witch to leave Minho alone. _

_ “Why would you protect me?” Minho had asked one of the vampires. _

_ “Because we need you. This forest needs you. You’re one of us now,” Is what they responded with. _

_ And there he was, staying in a secluded forest with fantasy creatures that he had never seen before. He was not only scared of them for a while, but also scared he was going to hurt them. That was until he felt his dark energy weaken over the course of being there, realizing that the forest fed off of it. _

_ The day he met Changbin was one of the most memorable ones for him. The younger didn’t trust him at all, not convinced that he could keep the forest thriving with his magic. Minho didn’t trust him either because he was a lunar witch, and he was worried that Changbin was either going to hurt him or he’d accidentally hurt Changbin. But when the lunar witch saw Minho releasing dark energy to the forest for the first time, he was shocked and amazed, having tried so many different things to do the same after his family were killed a few years ago.  _

_ Changbin offered Minho a place to stay in his cottage, a home for the older to make himself comfortable in while Changbin would study him and his effect on the forest. At first Minho was anxious about the arrangement but tried it out. They’d learn more about each other while living together, and Minho finally let his walls down after a few years, okay with Changbin getting close to him.  _

_ He didn’t ever want to think about what things would be like if he went outside the dark forest. He’s scared of what would happen if he didn’t have an outlet anymore to release the strong, dark magic always coursing through his body. _

  
  


“Minho? Are you feeling okay?”

The nocturnal witch snapped out of his daze, looking at the younger. “Oh, I’m fine. We should um, head home now.”

Jisung pouted a little. “But we just got here. And you didn’t answer my question-“

“Let’s go,” Minho said in a serious tone.

Jisung hesitated but then agreed, getting up from the ground and saying goodbye to the cat spirits.

  
  


Even when the energy potion wore off, Jisung did not feel tired at all. He knew dawn was approaching soon, and the thought of the sun coming up made Jisung’s body feel light.

Felix and Changbin got home a little bit after he and Minho had gotten home. The kitchen witch was a little sluggish, looking like he had just woken up. He carried a measuring cup full of flowers and placed it on the coffee table. Then as he usually did, he made his way into the kitchen to cook. 

“Breakfast is ready! Or is it dinner? You know what, nevermind. All of our sleep schedules are whack,” Felix called.

The kitchen witch brought over the dishes to the table, pretty much having cooked a whole feast. On the different plates were generous slices of juicy marinated pork, easy roasted caramelized vegetables, sweet braised potatoes, and a number of other side dishes and bowls of rice. Everyone else gawked.

“Felix? Why?” Changbin finally breathed.

“You don’t like it?” Felix worried in a small voice.

“Like it? It looks incredible! But... what’s the occasion?” He questioned, looking at Minho to see if the older happened to know something he didn’t.

“Does there need to be an occasion for good food?” Felix scoffed. “Now feed yourselves while it’s hot. I worked hard on this.”

  
  


“You think they’ll really believe us today?” Seungmin asked.

“I’m sure they will. But just in case, we tell them now so we can give them time to think about it,” Jeongin said.

“What about Felix and Jisung? Are they going to tell the other witches today too?” He asked.

“Both of the witches sleep during the day, only one being nocturnal but the other has the same habit I guess. I told them both earlier to tell the witches at a time where they’d all be awake. Which I guess according to Jisung, is either dusk or dawn.”

The art witch and divination witch walked to the beach, the sun being high in the sky and shining on the humans who cooled off by the water. Last night, Jeongin and Seungmin parted with the other two, suggesting that they meet up during noon of the next day to discuss something. Thankfully, Chan was free the next day to meet up so they could all talk without leaving anyone behind. After all, this information was important for both the sea witch and music witch to hear.

“Hey!” Chan waved to them while sitting next to Hyunjin.

“Hey Chan, hey Hyunjin!” The youngest greeted them.

They all sat down in their usual spot at the end of the beach near the rocks. Not many people went over to that area and the lifeguards wouldn’t pay too much attention to them.

“You said there was something important you wanted to tell me and Chan?” Hyunjin prompted.

Seungmin shifted in his seat, nodding at Jeongin to silently let him know he wanted him to explain it first.

“This is going to be a lot to take in so please save any questions you have after I explain,” Jeongin said.

When the other witches gave him their full attention, he continued. “So me and Seungmin haven’t been completely honest with you guys...”

The divination witch tried to explain everything. How he had felt their energies one day while meditating and sensed that they were in trouble. After spending time with them and confirming it was Hyunjin and Chan that were the ones, he wanted to save them from any potential harm. He also mentioned how they came to the danger realm with Jisung and Felix who were somewhere else currently spending time with another two witches Jeongin had sensed. They had all gone to see them and bring them back to the safe realm where they could live among magical creatures just like them, without the threat of humans.

“I knew it,” Chan softly laughed when Jeongin finished.

Seungmin tilted his head a little bit at this. “Knew what?”

“I knew there had to be a bigger reason why you two came to see me and Hyunjin.”

Seungmin and Jeongin stayed quiet at this. It’s not like they wanted to keep it as a secret, it was just best to not tell them until they really knew they were the witches they had been searching for.

“I’m not sure about going,” Hyunjin finally spoke up. “The sea is already safe for me. I’m sure whatever danger there is, I’ll be fine. I don’t need to go to some ‘safe realm’ that I don’t even know exists or not.”

Seungmin’s body tensed at this. He really didn’t want the older to stay there and possibly get hurt. If Jeongin was even a little accurate about what the future holds, he knew the sea witch wasn’t going to be safe where he was. 

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin pleaded. “Please come with me and Jeongin. I know you’re leaving a lot behind but we don’t want you or your family to possibly get hurt.”

“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin swallowed, avoiding the other’s eyes.

“We came all this way to find you guys. We’re worried what will happen,” Jeongin piped up.

“But I can’t go either,” Chan said. “I have a brother and a sister to look after. Plus, there are too many things here that require me to stay.”

“Hyung, you have to come with us. Something way worse will happen if you stay,” Jeongin argued.

Chan got up from the ground, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “I trust that you understand what’s going to happen in the future Jeongin, but even so, I’m not making a decision like that so hastily.”

And with that the music witch left, the others watching him walk off. Seungmin and Jeongin wanted to call after him, but what he said made sense. They should really give him time to think about things. However, Jeongin was getting apprehensive. The longer they waited, the more unsure he was about how things would turn out. While meditating, he hasn’t felt as many things as he thought he would. No hints to any threats and no energies detected from any people who could complicate their journey. It was oddly unsettling. 

Hyunjin sighed and got up from his seat. He walked over to the waters and stepped in the shallow level, sitting down and letting the lower half of his body be submerged. It’s not like he didn’t want to go, that wasn’t it at all. He was just scared. The sea was all he’s ever known. 

He felt someone sit next to him, but he didn’t look up, already knowing who it was.

“You really don’t trust us?” Seungmin asked.

Hyunjin’s head turned to the side. “No, it’s not like that at all. It’s just, how would I be safer on land then in water? I have a connection with this sea, and I don’t know what would happen if I left it.”

Seungmin frowned. “We’re not telling you that you’ll have to leave forever. Hopefully when things are safe again, you can come back here. And you can see your hyungs.”

Hyunjin let out a weak laugh. “What would they even say when I tell them all this?”

“Well what  _ would  _ they say?”

“Huh?”

“You’ll never know unless you ask them. If they’re the main reason why you can’t go, it doesn’t hurt to explain the situation to them. Me and Jeongin can even come with you.”

Hyunjin furrowed his brows at the suggestion. “You really think it could work?”

“It doesn’t hurt to try.”


	18. Chapter 18

When Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Jeongin arrived at the underwater house, the sea witch stopped in front of the door and hesitated. Seungmin shyly grabbed his hand to comfort him, but not without a noticeable pink dusted on his cheeks. When they walked in and entered the living room, Jinyoung, Yugyeom, BamBam, and Jaebum were there.

“Hyunjin, I see you brought your boyfriend again,” BamBam, smirked.

“And you’re holding hands. Aw, how cute~” Yugyeom teased.

Jinyoung who was sitting next to him shot him a glare and backhanded him in the chest. The other bent over and clutched his hand over the painful area.

“It’s so nice to finally meet your friends,” Jinyoung smiled. “They’re witches?”

Hyunjin nodded. “And um... there’s something I need to tell you.”

Jinyoung hyung was very protective over Hyunjin. If there was anyone that would be hard to convince, it would be him.

“Of course. And please, you and your friends should sit down,” Jinyoung said.

He glared at BamBam and Jaebum who were occupying the couch. They reluctantly got up and swam away, leaving room for the witches to sit down in.

“So what was it you wanted to tell me?” Jinyoung asked.

Seungmin squeezed Hyunjin’s hand in reassurance, rubbing his thumb along the other’s skin while the sea witch explained everything to the merman. Jinyoung just listened intently, letting the boy finish.

“Okay, I believe you. And I’ll let you go,” Jinyoung answered.

Hyunjin’s eyes widened. “Really? You believe everything? And you’re letting me go just like that?!”

The merman nodded. “Yes. But I need to talk to those two first. In private.”

Seungmin gulped, removing his hand from Hyunjin’s and following Jinyoung who swam into the hallway. Jeongin did the same as Seungmin.

“Look, I’ve never met you guys before. All I know is that you’re witches, the same creatures as Hyunjin. And while I’m a bit apprehensive about this, I’ve been preparing for the day this would happen,” He sighed.

Jeongin bit the inside of his cheek. “What were you preparing for?”

“The day Hyunjin wants to be with his own kind. It’s okay. He’s been feeling out of place for pretty much all his life, but he stays because he also feels safe here. Me and my housemates have done all we can to take care of him. But if he’s ready to leave, I trust him.”

The merman pressed his lips in a thin line. “And there’s another thing I want to mention,” He started. “It’s always been hard for me to let Hyunjin go on his own to the surface without knowing if he’ll come back or not. I want you two to take care of him. Especially you,” Jinyoung said, directing his gaze to Seungmin at the last sentence.

Seungmin shortly bowed his head and swallowed the lump in his throat. “We promise to keep him safe.”

  
  


Jisung sleepily tried to blink his eyes awake, asking Felix to poke him every time he started to fall asleep.

“I guess after being awake for almost 36 hours, it’s hard to stay up anymore,” Jisung laughed dryly.

Felix looked up from one of Changbin’s books he was reading and turned to the diurnal witch. “You don’t have to fight to stay awake. We’ll just tell them in the morning if we have to.”

“But I wanted to tell them this evening,” Jisung said while resting his chin on his palm. “You know, you really impressed them with your cooking. They might be asleep for a while.”

Felix gave him a smug grin and giggled. “What can I say? I’m just that good. But um, you should sleep for a while too. I promise I’ll wake you up when it’s time.”

That was all it took for Jisung to finally cave in and rest his head on a pillow, instantly falling asleep. Felix just took a blanket and laid it on his friend, patting his head and wishing him goodnight.

  
  


Minho sat on a rock while eating some wild berries he’d picked from a bush. After waking up pretty late in the night thanks from his heavy meal, he headed out to release his energy into a large crystal found in a small cave. Then he went to touch a few important trees on the other side of the forest, a pocket where his darkness would be needed. Now he was just resting, planning on heading back home soon. 

That was until he felt something off. He looked up at the sky which was still dark, but lightening up in color, meaning that morning was soon to come. But through his connection with the dark forest, he could feel vibrations on the ground. They felt heavy and quick, disturbing some of the birds in the trees and making them fly off. Minho got up from the rock and looked in the direction of the vibrations. He sharpened his eyes while staring. His feet carried him, going to see what was causing the disturbance.

  
  


Jeongin shot up from his bed, gasping for air as his heart rate spiked. He put a hand over his chest, trying to steady himself.

_ It was just a nightmare. _

He sucked in a breath and looked over at the art witch, the boy still sleeping soundly under the covers. The room was still dark, only moonlight shining through the curtains covering the windows. Jeongin checked the time, seeing it was early in the morning. He ruffled his hair a little bit before sitting down properly, trying to relax his body. He closed his eyes, deeply inhaling and letting go of his breaths. Soon enough, he started to feel light as a feather, his body lifting off the ground.

Jeongin winced. He felt a wave of heat come over him. Screams rang in his ears as he heard the crackling and whooshing sounds of fire. And among all that he was experiencing, he felt the energies of Minho and Changbin. They were in danger. They were going to get hurt. When the younger could no longer feel anything else, his eyes shot open and he fell on his bed with a slight thud.

“Seungmin, Seungmin wake up!” He said.

The other groaned and shifted in his bed, turning to him with sleepy eyes. “What is it?”

“We need to call Jisung and Felix. The other witches, they’re in danger. And our friends might as well be in trouble too if we don’t act fast.”

Seungmin immediately got up from this, walking over and sitting next to Jeongin in his bed. The divination witch reached into his bag and took out the compact mirror, snapping it open and focusing it on Jisung. 

When the reflection of the mirror showed Jisung’s sleeping body, Jeongin tried waking him.

“Wake up! This is urgent! Wake up Jisung!” He shouted.

It was no use. Whatever happened, the witch must have ran out of a lot of energy the previous day. Seungmin went over to his art bag and grabbed his wand. He drew a symbol in the air and flicked his wrist, the design glowing a bright yellow and the light going into the mirror. This magical snapshot was of the sun, one of the earliest images Seungmin had imprinted in his brain. 

Jisung shifted, bringing his arms up to his eyes and shielding it from the brightness. “It’s morning already?” He mumbled.

“Get up Jisung, we need you to listen,” Seungmin ordered.

The diurnal sat up from the couch he was laying on and nodded, signaling for them to continue.

“Minho and Changbin, was it? The two witches. They’re in danger right now. You need to get them and you need to get out of the forest before something bad happens,” Jeongin said.

Jisung got up from his seat. “I’m on it. I’ll go find them. They’re probably both still outside.”

“Hurry,” Seungmin added.

The light in the air disappeared and Jisung turned on his heel, heading for the door. He couldn’t focus on anything else but finding the two witches. Who knows how much time he has before Jeongin’s prediction comes to life. In his haste he left Felix who was sleeping on the other couch, figuring he'd just wake up the kitchen witch when it was time to go.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! From this chapter and so on, there will be scenes that contain violence. I do not explain anything in gory detail, but if you are uncomfortable with heavy angst, injuries, or violence, please handle the next chapters with caution. I strongly suggest not reading the next chapters if you want to avoid that type of content altogether.

Shortly after Jisung had left to go fetch the two witches, Changbin was walking back to his cottage, heading for the backdoor. He had just gotten back from visiting one of his friends, asking to borrow a strainer from them. He remembered how Felix commented on how small Changbin’s kitchen strainer was, so he went to get a bigger one.

He had no idea why he went through so much trouble just to accommodate for the younger. He would have never planned in the first place on letting Felix and Jisung stay, thinking he would have kicked them out after one day. But while he would have never admitted it out loud, he enjoyed the company, especially Felix’s. Despite having opposite sleeping patterns from him and Minho, they’d left quite an impact on them. They’d brightened up the place with their refreshing personalities and weird antics, and Changbin was wondering just how long they’d stick around. It’s not like he was bothered before by only having Minho as company, he just appreciated having some other people in his life, despite putting up his usual dark facade and pretending he was bothered by them sometimes. And besides, he knew that if he kicked out Felix and Jisung, he would never hear the end of it from Minho, especially because the nocturnal witch loved how well he’s been eating the past few days.

Changbin opened the backdoor and entered the cottage, heading straight for the kitchen and placing the strainer on the counter. He peeked his head over to the living room, smiling at the sight of Felix sound asleep, snuggling into his pillow. The lunar witch found it strange that he didn’t see Jisung on the other couch, but he shrugged it off. He felt bad that the two had to deal with such a sleeping arrangement, but Changbin and Minho occupied the only bedrooms in the house. And while the lunar witch trusted Felix and Jisung, he didn’t fancy the idea of them sleeping in him and Minho’s bedrooms. Changbin had a lot of things in his room that he didn’t want anyone to touch, and knowing Felix, the younger would definitely be bound to mess with things.

Changbin walked away and headed up the stairs, planning on studying a bit and then eating his last meal before going to bed.

  
  


Felix jolted awake when he heard something smash through the window. He looked up in the direction, seeing the shattered hole it left in the glass.

“What the hell was that?” He mumbled to himself.

Before he could get up to go investigate, he felt a blast, his eyes shutting close at the sting his body felt. A loud, sharp sound shot through his ears and as much as he wanted to let out a scream, he physically couldn’t. While he wasn’t able to see what happened, the last thing he felt was his head hitting something before falling unconscious.

  
  


Minho ran to the direction where the ground shook with more force. He heard screams and cries in the distance while he picked up his feet, running at an inhumane speed. A strong smell of smoke filled his nostrils and his throat tightened a bit, feeling discomfort while breathing it in. He slowed down a bit while looking at the trees up ahead being swallowed by flames. This was bad, really bad. 

Minho decided to change directions, knowing that the forest was now in grave danger. He instead headed for the heart, knowing that he’d have to protect the most vulnerable part of the land. If anything were to come and destroy that area, the rest of the forest would surely die along with it.

  
  


While running, Jisung could see the sky lightening up into a mix of pinks, purples and oranges. Dawn had pretty much arrived. He swallowed, hoping that the two witches were still out there. If he couldn’t catch them soon he would have to run back to the cottage and pray they’d be there. He ran through the dark trees and other plants before spotting a well lit up area. It led to a clearing in the middle of the woods. Jisung stopped in his tracks with what he saw.

In one area, the trees were on fire, burning down to nothing but ashy skeletons of themselves. There were soldiers everywhere shooting at mythical creatures trying to fight them off. It was chaos. In the midst of all of the action, there was a bright light shining like a rotating spotlight on a stage, blinding anyone that would look in that direction. But for Jisung, he could see just fine, looking past the light and noticing a huge drill planted on the ground, the contraption facing down towards the Earth.

Jisung ran into the battle, mana flaring up at his fingertips. He jumped into the air and threw his arms down, light dispersing in all different directions and blinding some of the soldiers. He landed on the ground with a thud and snapped his head up, throwing a punch at one of the soldiers that came near him. The guy stumbled back and Jisung took the opportunity to slice a beam of light in his direction, burning his torso and making him fall to the ground. In the corner of his eye he spotted another soldier while swiftly moving out of the way, a bullet flying right next to him. Jisung gritted his teeth and flicked his hand, a bright burst of energy shooting through the air and hitting him in the chest.

The diurnal witch caught his breath and looked around at the absolute bloodbath that was happening before his eyes. Wherever these soldiers were coming from, this attack had to be from the works of humans.

  
  


Minho hesitated at nothing when he entered the clearing, his body ready to charge in and protect the forest at all costs. He no longer restricted himself, letting his dark energy consume him. The air around him filled with black clouds while he balled up his fists. He sprinted, letting his darkness spread out in front of him, attacking some of the human soldiers. Their skin started to turn pale as they dropped their guns and put their hands to their necks, wheezing and gasping for air. Minho glared while running past them, going to attack a few more soldiers when a blinding light stung his eyes, burning his corneas. He stumbled a bit and felt the force of a bullet whooshing by him, barely missing his arm. He snapped his head in the direction of the attack and sent a dark cloud their way, instantly cutting off the soldier’s breathing. Minho desperately wanted to go to the middle of the clearing and protect the patch of soil that was the most vital part of the forest, but he couldn’t even look in the direction of it without getting blinded. Just what was causing such a bright light to prevent Minho from going there?

His attention was then caught by something else, or rather, someone else. There was Jisung, fighting off soldiers with his light powers. Minho’s eyes were still sensitive to his light, but the diurnal witch wasn’t using as much brightness as he could have so Minho wasn’t blinded right away. Not to mention that Jisung wasn’t pointing the light in his direction either.

He ran over to the diurnal witch, helping him but most importantly, protecting him.

“Minho! There you are! Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?” Jisung gasped when he saw him.

“Why were you even looking for me?” Minho asked, swiping his arm at a few soldiers’ direction to send his darkness their way.

“Long story short, this forest is in danger and you and Changbin need to leave!”

“Uh yeah, I figured that first part out,” Minho said dryly. “And why do me and Changbin have to leave? I need to stay here and protect this forest.”

“Well you’re not safe here!”

“Oh I’m not safe? You’re not safe being here. I’ll fight them off, you should get out of here while you still can.”

“I’m not leaving!” Jisung yelled stubbornly.

The diurnal witch blinded another soldier and kicked them in the stomach before looking towards the center of the clearing. 

“Cover me,” He said.

“I’m sorry what?!” Minho shouted.

“Just do it!”

Jisung ran to where the light beams in the middle of the land were coming from and Minho had no choice but to keep fighting off the soldiers that came for him or the diurnal witch. Minho watched as Jisung ran into the light, and he couldn’t see much from there. Once Jisung got closer to the drill, he spotted someone next to it. The person had short red hair, and he was wearing a white drama mask that covered his whole face. Jisung ran at them but the other was quick, spotting the attack and shining his light in Jisung’s face. But little did they know, that wouldn’t affect him, so Jisung took the opportunity to launch himself into the air and come down at them, pushing the other to the ground. The masked person threw Jisung off of them and the two stood up facing each other. Jisung had to guess they were also a diurnal witch but this confused him. Why on earth would a witch be fighting him and working alongside humans?

The ash blonde dodged a beam of light that shot up from the other fingertips. He countered it with his own attack and stretched out his hand to shoot out his own light. The two energies battled each other, the midpoint of where their attacks met shifting from side to side, seeing which person’s powers were the strongest. It wasn’t until the ground beneath their feet started to violently shake did Jisung lose his focus, stumbling back when the masked person’s light hit his body. The drill was finally digging into the ground, throwing dirt up into the air and making its way deeper and deeper into the soil. Jisung straightened up and clutched his stomach, moving his other hand to point at the red-head and shoot at them. But the other was too quick, dodging his attack and shooting Jisung again but this time near the face. He closed his eyes, bracing for impact but it never came. Instead, he was pushed to the ground and felt a weight land right next to him. He opened his eyes to see Minho laying beside him on the ground, face twisted in pain. He snapped up at the masked person standing in front of them, the red-head starting to lift their hands emitting a bright energy around them. Jisung quickly threw his arm up and conjured a wall of light, making the others' huge attack absorb into the block and then shoot it right back, hitting them instead. The diurnal witch lying by Minho looked at him, trying to reach out and check if he was okay. But the nocturnal witch shifted away, assuring him in a shaky breath that he was fine.

They both got up and looked to the masked person that was holding their shoulder, probably where their own attack had hit them. Their head looked up at the two before turning away and running the opposite direction. Jisung was about to go after them when he felt Minho leave his side and go to where the hole in the ground was. The drill was already so deep into the Earth that Minho knew this was beyond his abilities. The heart of the forest, it was completely destroyed. He knew from what the locals had told him that under the patch of soil previously there, a seed was positioned underneath it, its roots connecting to almost every part of the forest. That seed gave energy and nutrients to all parts of the land, and with something as strong as a huge drill, it was most likely destroyed. Minho cursed while looking down at the dark opening in the ground. 

The soldiers who were still alive retreated, but not before throwing bombs and grenades in different directions that blew up some of the trees, the other ones surrounding it catching on fire. Some of the other creatures chased after the soldiers, some stayed standing there in shock of what just happened, and the rest laid on the ground, greatly wounded or dead.

Through his connection with the forest, Minho could feel it dying. He got to his knees and desperately put his hands on the ground, trying to put in whatever energy he could into it. But the ground didn’t take it. Instead, his darkness just spread out on the Earth’s surface, no longer being able to sink through. Minho brought his hands up and stared at them in horror, the dark mana just getting stronger and bigger, no longer having a place to go. His anxiety spiked. He turned to Jisung who was starting to approach him. The nocturnal witch got on his feet, the darkness of his hand spreading to the rest of his body. His voice got caught in his throat, adrenaline coursing through his blood.

“Minho, Minho, look at me,” Jisung said when he saw the other was panicking.

“No... no stay away,” Minho choked out, backing away as a dark cloud now formed around him.

“Look, I know you’re scared but I need for you to calm down. Your powers will only get more out of control if you let your emotions get the best of you,” Jisung coaxed, stepping closer to Minho.

The nocturnal witch body shook with fear. “D-dont. Don’t come closer.” 

He swallowed a cry threatening to come out and spun around, running away and heading in the direction of some trees that hadn’t caught fire yet. He felt like a monster. It was only a matter of time before he fully lost control of his powers and hurt someone. And the last person he ever wanted to hurt was Jisung.

  
  


Changbin pushed some debris off of him while coughing at the smoke that hung in the air. A few moments ago, he was writing something down in his notebook when he heard something shatter from downstairs. Before he could get up to see what happened, the cottage exploded, pieces of it flying everywhere and flames erupting all around. The lunar witch painfully pulled himself up onto his feet, his eyes widening at the complete destruction of the building. Then the thought of someone suddenly shot through his head. Felix.

Changbin frantically ran around, calling the kitchen witches name while looking for him and moving pieces of debris out of the way. His eyes started to water but he pushed down the fear rising up in his body, trying his best to focus on finding the other. It wasn’t until he moved a piece of the wall from the ground did he see him. The sight horrified Changbin. Felix was nearly completely covered in ashes and his clothes were torn. Cuts and bruises littered his skin, but nothing was more terrifying than the huge burn on the right side of Felix’s body, placed all the way from the lower half of his face to his leg. The lunar witch soon got over his shock and got down to where he was laying, gently picking him up and desperately trying to fight his tears. He heard screams and yelling in the distance, and the crackling noise of the close fire next to him made the back of his neck sweat. He found an opening in the flames and ran out, trying to find a safe place to seek refuge. Most of the trees surrounding them were on fire, so he tried going in any direction where they would be safe. He spotted a small cave, one he’d gone with Minho in many times before. He ran inside, the interior being lit up with a purple glow coming from the crystal that was further inside it. He set Felix softly on the ground. The boy’s blood stained Changbin’s clothes but he didn’t even notice in his panic. He quickly got to work on assessing the damage. He took his shirt off and dried off any more blood he could with. Then using his hand, he scooped up some of the cave water and put it on Felix’s burn. He knew it wasn’t the safest water he could have used, but what other choice did he have? Felix started to stir awake, hissing in pain and his eyes fluttering open. 

“Stay still Felix, don’t move,” Changbin said.

The other complied, looking at the other with strained eyes while he tried treating Felix’s burn. The lunar witch was pretty beat up himself, cuts and gashes across his skin, but yet he paid no attention to his own injuries. 

“What happened?” Felix croaked.

“I don’t know. But the house blew up and the forest is on fire,” Changbin said.

“What? Where are Jisung and Minho?” 

“I don’t know. I didn’t see either of them earlier.”

Silence fell over them as Changbin did as much as he could. He’d definitely have to get Felix treated properly before things got infected, but he didn’t have the slightest idea of where he'd turn to. 

“Thank you,” Felix said suddenly.

Changbin blinked his eyes a few times, making sure he heard him right. “What?”

“Thank you, for saving me,” Felix grinned slightly.

“Of course I’d save you. There’s no way I could have left you back there,” He grumbled.

Felix chuckled to himself, reaching up and moving a strand of hair away from the witch’s face, now seeing him clearly. His teeth grinded together from the burning sensation of his right side, but he tried to focus on nothing but Changbin, biting back the pain as tears fell from Felix’s eyes. 

  
  


“Minho!” Jisung shouted after him.

The nocturnal witch kept running without looking back, passing the yellow and orange flames burning down the forest. He was going to run near the outskirts of the forest but he tripped over rock, falling forward while his hands instinctively reached out to land on the ground first. He turned his head back and saw Jisung coming in closer. He tried to get up but the younger pointed a finger in his direction and shot out a stream of light in his direction, straining his eyes.

“Agh,” Minho yelped on the floor while blinking his eyes.

“Sorry, I just need you to stop and listen for a second. I promise everything will be okay,” Jisung pleaded.

“Okay? You’re in danger Jisung! Get away from me!” Minho yelled.

Jisung pressed his lips into a thin line, looking at the witch with an unusual serious expression. “Minho, you have to listen to me.”

“No! Stay away!” 

“Minho!”

“I can’t,” The nocturnal witch choked, exhaustion taking a toll on him. He got to his knees, tears threatening to slip out. “I can’t,” He repeated.

“You can’t what?” Jisung asked, softening his tone.

“I can’t hurt you. I... I don’t want to.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Jisung said while stepping towards the boy, “Don’t worry about me. I just need you to breathe.”

Minho’s pants staggered as the diurnal witch was no more than a foot away from him. He looked Jisung in the eyes. The younger’s was sympathetic and kind, contrasting Minho's tired and fearful eyes.

“Don’t come near me,” Minho quietly begged, his voice getting stuck in his throat while his tears finally dropped.

Jisung squatted down to his level. The black smoke around him hit Jisung, and it became more difficult to breathe. But the witch didn’t focus on that at the moment. He reached out to Minho, gently putting up a hand to the other’s dark brown locks and stroking his head.

“Stop,” Minho’s voice quavered, “Stop it, stop touching me.”

Jisung wrapped an arm around Minho and pulled him in, embracing him in a hug. The nocturnal witch choked up, feeling the darkness consume them both as his heart rate quickened.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Minho exclaimed.

Jisung just let out a few coughs while holding on to the other, not caring that he could barely breathe at that point.

“GET OFF OF ME!” Minho cried, thrashing against the other’s hold, trying to pull the witch off of him.

Jisung curled his fingers against Minho’s back, his knuckles turning white. He couldn’t help but let out a weak laugh while his body shook. His lips curled into a smile and he shut his eyes tight. He thought about all he had been through on his journey. The positive mindset he had while stepping into the danger realm, the moment where he met the nocturnal witch for the first time and blinded him with his wide beaming smile, or when he and Minho went out to the forest the other day and he got to meet Minho’s cat spirits. Those memories kept Jisung smiling, even when his throat stung and his lungs burned, longing for air. He tightened his grip around the Minho and looked down at his own hands. Jisung’s fingertips were turning black, the color rising up into his veins, clashing with the pale skin surrounding it.

“JISUNG I’M HURTING YOU!” Minho sobbed, trying to grab at him but his weak arms just fell limp to the side.

“Minho... it’s all going to be okay,” Jisung gasped.

Minho buried his face in Jisung’s shoulder, crying into his shirt. He mumbled a mix of incoherent worries as he felt Jisung just slowly rub his back, soothing him. This diurnal witch that was the literal embodiment of his opposite was here hugging Minho, fighting to hold him and calm him down. The nocturnal witch’s body shuddered as he felt the ‘fight or flight’ instinct inside of him start to go away. Minho bit his lip and pressed his forehead into Jisung’s chest, feeling the tears stream all the way down from his cheeks to his collarbone. 

The pain in Jisung’s body slowly started to alleviate. He swallowed a big breath of air and sighed. The black cloud around them was starting to get smaller, and the black lines branching around Jisung’s forearms were going back down and leaving his veins their normal color. He was starting to get his normal vibrant glow back. The two witches’ auras intermingled with each other, their energies balancing out while they touched. When Jisung could finally breathe normally, he put a hand up to Minho’s head and combed his fingers through his hair. The nocturnal witch’s eyes slowly started to shut, his body calming down at the others touch and exhaustion finally getting the best of him. He fell asleep in Jisung’s arms, leaning against his head against the other.


	20. Chapter 20

It was probably around 6:00 a.m. when Jeongin frantically knocked on Chan’s door. He knew it was wrong of him to just go to the other like that without a warning, but if Minho and Changbin were in trouble, then surely something bad would also happen to Hyunjin and Chan. Seungmin went out to get Hyunjin at the beach so Jeongin was in charge of getting the music witch. He really hoped he had the right house.

Luckily the boy he was looking for opened the door, looking wide awake like he wasn’t even sleeping before he came to the door.

“Jeongin? How do you even know where I live?” He questioned.

“I followed your energy. But what matters now is we have to go. Me and Seungmin’s friends are in trouble and we’re leaving. I don’t have a good feeling about how things are going to go. You’re in danger, and you can either come with us or stay here,” Jeongin said.

“But my siblings, will they be fine without me?”

“From what I know so far, yes, they will be fine without you. And you staying here is only going to put them in danger too.”

Chan bit his lip and anxiously looked to the side at the staircase. His sister and brother were still up there sleeping. Chan just went with his gut and nodded to the divination witch. He went back inside to grab his music gear and a few other essentials, stuffing it in a backpack. He jotted down some words on a notepad, coming up with some semi-believable excuse for why he would be gone, and left with Jeongin.

“Let’s take my car, it’ll be much faster,” Chan explained while typing in the garage code.

The door opened revealing one blue car and a white SUV. Chan took his keys and got into the SUV, hurrying Jeongin to get in and sit in the passenger seat. Sure the divination witch has seen cars pass by him before, but it was different getting in one for the first time. After Chan helped him with his seatbelt, he backed out of the driveway, asking Jeongin where to go. Their first stop would be the beach.

  
  


Thankfully for Seungmin, despite how early it was in the morning, Hyunjin was awake and in the usual spot. He explained anxiously about everything that was happening and the sea witch stopped him a few times, reminding him to breathe in between bits of his explanation. But once Hyunjin got the full story, he went under the water for a quick second without even casting a spell on himself. Then a few moments after he came up to the surface with a bag he’d already packed just in case something like this were to happen. Seungmin lightly sighed in relief, amazed at how Hyunjin was already prepared for leaving. They walked across the beach and to the boardwalk. Hyunjin couldn’t help but look at everything in amazement, never really being this far on the surface before. A white SUV pulled up to the two witches and the window rolled down revealing Chan and Jeongin sitting up front.

“Need a ride?” Chan said with a goofy grin on his face. “Man, I’ve always wanted to say that!” 

Hyunjin just rolled his eyes at him and awkwardly reached for the handle of the car, pulling the door open. Him and Seungmin got in the backseat and Chan drove off, getting directions from Jeongin who guided them to where the dark forest would be.

  
  


Changbin heard Jisung out calling him and Felix’s names. The kitchen witch’s head slightly shot up in the direction of the opening to the cave. Changbin gently put his head back down, carefully picking Felix up from the ground and insisting that he shouldn’t move for a while.

“Changbin? Fe-“ Jisung stopped when he saw Changbin carrying Felix’s body, the whole right side of it burned up.

“Oh Felix,” Jisung whispered.

Diurnal witch himself was carrying a sleeping Minho in his arms, and he made his way over to the other two.

Changbin’s eyes widened. “Is Minho...”

“Oh Minho’s fine. He’s just really sleepy,” Jisung said with a forced smile.

He looked back at his best friend who looked dazed. He must have been in shock or something, because his injuries looked really serious and painful.

“You guys alright?” A voice spoke up behind them.

Jisung and Changbin turned to see a blue-haired vampire making his way over to them. Changbin immediately recognized him as the leader of one of the vampire clans in the forest.

“We’re alright Hongjoong. But Felix is hurt,” Changbin said to him.

Hongjoong looked down at the kitchen witch whose eyes were barely open now. “Me and the others are working with the healing creatures to treat smaller injuries, but we can try our best with this one.”

“Thank you,” Changbin said while walking with Hongjoong. Jisung followed them, all of them headed near the center of the forest.

  
  


The flames in the forest had finally been put out by some of the water creatures. Chan parked his car on some rocky dirt trail and everyone got out. They all stared at the forest emitting smoke from the top. There was no longer a dark aura around the woods, the land just looking like a normal forest in the morning sunlight.

“This is the place where your friends are?” Hyunjin asked.

“Yup,” Jeongin nodded. “Let’s go.”

Chan warily looked around at the burnt trees and singed grass on the ground, instinctively walking next to Jeongin in the front in case anything happened to them. Sure he came from a family of witches, but he’s had no other exposure to any other creatures besides them before. He didn’t know what kind of dangerous beings could fill this place. Jeongin and them finally got to the clearing where a bunch of different creatures were. There were humans dead on the ground with guns laying next to them, and mythical creatures were walking and flying all over the place. Some of them cried while others treated the injured, and some were even going on heated tangents about the attack that had taken place.

Jeongin let out a gasp when he spotted a light blue-haired boy laying on the ground surrounded by a few creatures. He ran to him, the others following behind him.

“Oh my god, Felix,” He gasped while putting his hands up to his mouth.

“I know Innie, I know,” Jisung walked up to him and consoled him, giving the divination witch a slight hug. This definitely wasn’t the reunion either one of them was planning.

“Is he going to be okay?” Seungmin breathed, just as shocked.

A vampire with silvery-gray hair looked at him with sympathetic eyes. “We’re doing all we can, but his burn is serious. We managed to heal some of his cuts and bruises though.”

“Seonghwa, he’s drifting in and out of consciousness again,” Another vampire stressed, this one with longer blonde hair.

“Be gentle with him Yeosang,” Seonghwa said.

Chan swallows thickly, not entirely sure that these scary looking vampires would know much about practicing medicine.

“I think he should go to a hospital,” He commented.

Everyone’s head turned to him in shock, and he instantly felt shy under all of their stares.

“Like a human hospital hyung?” Hyunjin asked.

“Well he looks seriously injured, so why not?” Chan argued.

One vampire with long black hair scoffed. “Yeah, like we would trust humans with him when they’re the ones who attacked us.”

“I’m with Wooyoung on this one,” Changbin agreed with his friend. All of his minor injuries were fixed up and he was wearing one of Wooyoung’s shirts. “We can’t trust humans. Especially not with Felix.”

“Actually we’ve been around humans for a few days now. As long as we don’t use our magic, they really won’t notice us,” Jeongin spoke up, standing behind Chan’s suggestion.

“Yeah right, like I would let them touch Felix. Not even over my cold dead body,” Changbin spat.

“And just what do you know about what’s best for Felix? He’s obviously not going to get better staying here,” Seungmin said while crossing his arms.

“Changbin, they have a point. Let’s just take him to the hospital,” Jisung said quietly.

The lunar witch curled his hands into fists. “Seriously? After all we’ve been through you still want to bring him to the creatures that hurt us? Are you out of your minds?”

“Okay how about this?” Jeongin interjected. “I’ll meditate and see if there are any immediate threats in our futures. Then we can decide whether to bring Felix to the hospital or not.”

Changbin and the rest of the vampires just looked at Jeongin with immense confusion. The boy sighed and face-palmed. “I’m a divination witch. Duh! Just give me a few moments.”

He left and Chan followed after him, not trusting the younger to walk off anywhere alone. Seungmin and Hyunjin just stood there, staring at Felix’s weak body and half-lidded eyes.

“He’ll be okay,” Jisung assured them, walking them over to an area where they could all sit down.

Jisung explained everything that happened to them. It was especially unsettling because even despite the horrifying details, Jisung still told it with such a brightness in his voice, showing that he’d put it all in the past already.

“So where’s the boy in your future? Is he injured too?” Seungmin questioned.

“No, he’s sleeping over there,” Jisung pointed, the witch resting not so far away from where Felix laid.

Seungmin’s eyes fell back onto Felix and he swallowed the lump in his throat, hoping that Jeongin would finish up soon so they could possibly get Felix treated faster. He felt someone hold his hand in theirs and intertwine their fingers together. He gave Seungmin’s hand a light squeeze and the art witch’s heart fluttered a bit.

Jisung noticed this and smirked. “So, you’re the sea witch I’ve heard about?”

Hyunjin turned his head towards him. “Oh? What have you heard?”

“Oh nothing. Just how you’re Seungmin’s beloved soulmate and you two are destined to be with each other until the end of time. No biggie.”

A blush spread over Seungmin’s cheeks and swatted at the diurnal witch who was now laughing his head off. “We’ve been over this Jisung, this whole thing is not about soulmates. And I’m only going to say this one time, me and Hyunjin are just friends. So shut the hell up and get that through your thick skull.”

“I’m sorry,” Jisung said half-heartedly while giggling.

Hyunjin couldn’t help the feeling of his heart sinking a little bit at Seungmin’s words, but he tried to push past it.

“So after your friend gets all fixed up, where are we going to go?” The sea witch asked.

“Most likely back to the safe realm. I am so ready to get out of here and head back home,” Seungmin sighed.

“I’m positive that we’ll get there soon enough. Don’t look so down Minnie,” Jisung said with a slight smile.

“Of course you’re positive,” Seungmin huffed.

  
  


Jeongin was trying to meditate away from all of the creatures, doing his best to focus without any distractions. He had been levitating for a few minutes now and nothing was happening yet. That was until he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stick up. Danger. Danger at every turn. A feeling of dread came over him as it clouded his thoughts. No matter what they would do or where they would turn next, he and the others were going to be in danger, and he sensed no other possible outcome. His eyes shot open and his body quickly floated down, not landing as gently as he would have liked.

“Jeongin, what’s wrong?” Chan asked anxiously.

The divination turned to Chan. He knew the older would freak out if Jeongin told him what he felt. Especially if he himself was in danger, Chan would stop at nothing to try and prevent it. But Jeongin didn’t want him to waste his energy like that, doing something that would possibly just prolong the inevitable.

“Well um,” Jeongin lightly laughed, “We won’t die if we go to the human hospital.”

That part wasn’t entirely a lie. If they were going to die, Jeongin would definitely know. But he couldn’t ensure that they were entirely safe either. 

Chan sighed in relief and ran a hand through his dark locks. “So we can go and it’ll be safe?”

Jeongin gulped. He hated lying but he didn’t want anyone else to panic and do something irrational. “I think so,” He lied. “As long as we keep our guard up.”

  
  


“We’re going to take Felix to the hospital,” Jeongin said when he made his way over to Jisung and the others sitting down.

“Okay,” Seungmin nodded. “We trust you.”

Jeongin shook off the guilt rising in his body and turned to Chan. “You think you can fit all of us in your car?”

“How many people would it be in total?”

Jeongin used his fingers to count all of them, making sure he wouldn’t miss anyone. “Eight.”

“Yup that works.”

They all went over to Felix who was laying down still, some of his other cuts currently trying to be healed by some other magical creatures. “We’ll take him in now.”

Changbin shot them all a dirty glare before leaning on the ground and gently picking up Felix, scowling at anyone else that tried to get close to them.

Jisung picked up sleeping Minho’s body from the ground and they all started to walk towards the car.

“Be careful!” Seonghwa called after them.

“Thank you! We will!” Jeongin responded

Changbin’s body was tense while walking with them, worrying about another thing other than Felix.

“What about the dark forest?” He asked Jisung, looking back and around the burnt trees and plants. 

“I’m sure the other creatures will do their best to take care of it while we’re gone. We’ll figure it out later,” The diurnal witch said.

When they finally got out of the woods and approached Chan’s SUV, they all got in, the car having exactly eight seats in it. In the very back were Felix, Changbin, and Seungmin. While sitting Felix down, the boy hissed in pain and Changbin did his best to calm him down. In the middle seats were Hyunjin, Jisung, and Minho who was still asleep. And then Chan and Jeongin sat in the front. They drove all the way into the city, finding the closest hospital so they could take Felix to the emergency room.

“Changbin, you have to let Felix go inside,” Jisung said, seeing how the older glared at them.

“I still don’t trust them,” He grumbled, keeping a hand on Felix’s good shoulder.

“Please mate, we need to get going. He needs to be treated,” Chan coaxed.

Changbin sighed in defeat, allowing them to get to the back. Chan picked up Felix and carried him inside.

“Yo Seungmin, can you wake up Minho for me?” Jisung asked.

“Why me?” The art witch asked.

“You got a moon spell, don’t you?” 

Seungmin reached into his bag and drew a symbol in the air next to the sleeping boy. The car was covered in a shadow and moonlight shone on the nocturnal witch’s face.

He stirred awake and opened his eyes. “It’s night already?”

“Woah, he’s just like you Jisung,” Seungmin snorted.

Minho looked at his surrounding confused. Then the events from that moments ran through his brain. “Jisung?”

“Yes Minho, I’m right here. I’m okay,” The younger said, getting his attention.

Minho felt a wave of relief and guilt wash over his body. Jisung pulled him out of the car and they started to walk in. 

“You going man?” Hyunjin asked Changbin.

The lunar witch rolled his eyes and dragged himself out the car, bringing his sour attitude with him.

“Jeez, what's his deal?” Seungmin snarked.

“I know right?” Hyunjin said.

  
  


While everyone sat there, Chan was filling out the human paperwork, being the only one there that really knew how that stuff worked.

“Felix is going to need skin grafting. It’s going to take a few weeks for him to heal and probably a lot longer to fully recover,” Chan mentioned.

“That long? We don’t have that sort of time. If we were in the safe realm, an injury like that could be fixed in a few days,” Seungmin complained.

“I know right? Human medicine is so slow,” Jeongin said.

“Should we just let the humans take care of his pain for a few days and then go back?” Seungmin asked.

“I think that will work,” Jeongin said with a weak smile, knowing it didn’t matter what they did. 

  
  


Felix opened his eyes a little more, still in a daze as he looked around the hospital room. His left arm was connected to an IV and the whole right side of his body was covered in bandages. He was barely paying attention to what was happening, and he couldn’t even feel any pain anymore.

A nurse then came into the room, wearing glasses and a mask. She had green hair going into blue near the tips, and she had distinctive light brown eyes that almost looked yellow.

“How are you feeling?” She asked, carrying a small metal tray.

“I’ve been better,” Felix admitted, a cough following after it.

“Well considering your little... accident in the kitchen you must have felt quite a lot of pain,” She said in an ominous voice.

Felix didn’t pick up on it, instead just listening to her words. Accident in the kitchen? Was that the best excuse the others came up with? Felix might burn himself a little in the kitchen once a year, but he’d never be that stupid to burn himself to that extent.

“It’s okay. I’ll make sure to take away any pain you might still be feeling,” The nurse said, letting out a giggle when she picked up a syringe from the tray.

“Thank you?” Felix said in more of a question.

The nurse turned to him and cleaned an area on his left arm, just like how other nurses would do before giving shots.

“So this is a painkiller?” The kitchen witch asked, eyeing the syringe filled with some light blue substance.

“Something like that.”

The nurse took the syringe and started to lower the needle near his arm. Felix just glanced at the tip nearing his skin, only being a few millimeters away before the door slammed open.

“Felix! Oh thank god,” Seungmin said while running to the boy. “I’m sorry but your burns looked absolutely horrifying, I swear I was gonna throw up if I had to look at them again.”

The nurse retracted her hand, putting down the syringe and standing to the side, eyes shifting across the room.

“Hey guys. I actually feel a little better now,” The kitchen witch smiled.

His eyes landed on the lunar witch that stood by his left side. He slowly reached out to him and took his hand in his, despite all of the wires attached to his own.

“Hey don’t look so worried. I’m going to be fine,” He assured him.

“Right,” Changbin grumbled, eyes flickering up at the suspicious looking nurse leaving the room.

Jeongin also got a look at her, noting the same thing that Changbin did. Just why did she leave right before she was going to give Felix a shot?

“Felix, what the hell happened to you?” Minho asked, completely in the dark about everything.

“Some humans probably threw a bomb in the house. The whole thing blew up and Felix got seriously injured,” Changbin explained bitterly.

Minho’s eyes widened. He must have missed a lot. One second he was crying in Jisung’s arms, and the next he woke up in a place full of humans. Saying he was confused would be an understatement.

The door opened up again and the green-haired nurse came in but this time wearing a gas mask. In her hand was a big black canister connected to a spray nozzle. She pressed down the trigger, spraying a foggy line of smoke in that room. Soldiers also came into the room with gas masks on, the same uniforms as the one that attacked the forest. Minho and Jisung were about to go at them when they suddenly felt light headed. As the fumes spread, all of the witches started to pass out. Changbin lunged himself in their direction, mana flaring up at his fingertips before he could no longer hold himself together. He fell to the ground, the darkness in his vision closing in. All he was able to see were the black boots of the nurse stepping towards him before he fully blacked out.


	21. Chapter 21

Hyunjin groaned while he woke up from his deep sleep. He was about to hold his head in his hand when he realized he couldn’t move his hand. In fact, he couldn’t move the rest of his body either. He warily looked at his surroundings. It was a bright white empty room with nothing but two doors on opposite walls, multiple cameras positioned on the ceiling, and a screen in the top corner showing the camera views of himself. He tried to move, struggling to get out of his seat. His hands and feet were completely encased in metal contraptions, preventing him from moving or using the limited amount of magic he could do. The chair he was sitting in was made of metal, and everything from his legs to his waist were tied down.

One of the doorknobs turned and a woman came walking in. Her wavy ombré green to blue hair was tied back into a ponytail, she wore circular golden glasses, and a lab coat with casual clothes under it. She shot Hyunjin a bone-chilling look, smiling widely at him. But it wasn’t a friendly smile, far from it. Her smile held mischief with a murderous glint in her eyes.

“Oh great, you’re up,” She said sarcastically through gritted teeth.

“Where am I?” Hyunjin shot back.

“Ooh you sound mad. Don’t worry, you’ll see your friends soon enough,” She snickered.

The woman snapped her fingers and guards came in, rolling Hyunjin’s chair and pushing it down the hallway. The building was dimly lit. It looked old, the slick off-white floors having dark skid marks in some areas and the walls looking like they could use a new paint job. He was rolled into a creepy looking elevator, the woman going in there and standing beside him, pressing for the bottom floor.

“What’s with the outfit? You a prince or something?” She commented on Hyunjin’s white silk robe.

The sea witch didn’t answer, ignoring her words. He managed to notice something on her lab coat, a plastic white tag. It read ‘Viper: Poison Specialist’. Hyunjin narrowed his eyes at her. Just who was this woman and who was she working for?

When the elevator got to the bottom floor, the old machine landed with a thud. The doors opened and Hyunjin was pushed out. This hallway looked a lot newer, the floor made out of a red velvety carpet with gold embellishments. Torches lined the dark grey walls, leading up to a huge pair of dark wooden doors with claw marks carved onto them. On both doors were old-fashioned gold door knockers shaped into lions. The woman went up to one of the knockers and grabbed the handle, using it a few times. The huge doors opened with a loud creak. There at the very end of the room were two people, one sitting in a huge leather desk chair and the other sitting directly on the side of the desk. Both of them looked at Hyunjin and held grins on their faces, theirs just as unsettling as Viper’s.

“Hey bosses! I brought the last one!” The green-haired woman said, happily skipping toward them and then standing to the side.

“Took you long enough,” The person sitting on the desk chuckled dryly. She sat there cleaning off a rifle in her hands like it was some leisurely afternoon activity. She had long dirty blonde hair, a distinctive gap between her two front teeth, and she wore some expensive looking red dress with a fluffy black coat.

“Excellent. Now that we have everyone, let’s get this started shall we?” The person sitting in the chair said. He had curly black hair slightly hiding the right side of his face, piercing green eyes, and a smirk etched on his lips. He wore a plain black suit with a blue tie against his white dress shirt underneath.

Hyunjin sucked in his breath as he looked around. Just like him, all of the other witches were tied down in metal chairs, their hands and feet especially restricted.

“I hope you didn’t find Viper’s method of bringing you here too bothersome,” He joked in a low voice.

Viper snorted. “Well I sure had fun with it!”

The woman with the rifle told her to quiet down and the man continued.

“Now as I was saying-“

“Okay I can’t stand this anymore!” Minho interrupted. “Just who the hell are you, what do you want from us, where are we, and all of ya’ll are mad creepy by the way!”

The man stared blankly at the witch but then cleared his throat. “Well uh... I guess we could answer your questions.”

“Yeah! Just like Chan hyung would say, we don’t need sleep, we need answers!” Hyunjin added.

“I’m literally right here. And when have I ever said anything like that?” Chan asked.

“Hyung, your eye bags are so heavy that you’d be flagged by TSA,” Hyunjin commented.

While some of the other witches jumped in and joined the quarrel the man in the blue tie just turned back to the other two women. Viper was bent forward laughing hysterically and the woman with the rifle just shrugged and gave him a confused look.

“ALRIGHT ENOUGH OF THIS!” The man roared.

All of the witches stopped talking and looked up at him.

“Now, as I was saying before you all rudely interrupted me, you are here because you possess supernatural powers. We’ve been keeping tabs on you guys ever since you entered the city,” He smirked.

Chan squinted his eyes at him, strongly agreeing with Minho’s claim earlier of them being ‘mad creepy’.

“My name is Bear and I’m the leader of the Claw Clan.”

The music witch’s breath got stuck in his throat. The Claw Clan were a powerful band of humans that lived underground and have been killing off magical creatures for centuries. His grandmother always warned him and his siblings about them. They’re what every person who wasn’t a human feared.

“Me and my partner, Jackal have been working eradicating magical creatures for good just like all of the generations before us tried to. There aren’t many left, but there are still some that have managed to slip by us, including you guys.”

“But why do you want to kill us off? What harm have _we_ specifically done to humans?” Changbin snapped.

“I’m glad you asked,” Bear said. “Think about it. Having magical powers is such a biological advantage over humans. You guys are able to bend and break the laws of reality. Why should humans have to be so inferior, and why does magic have to be so overpowering? That’s why we want to kill you off. The Claw Clan have been working for centuries to put an end to magic and all who possess it. We wish for humans to have full control over the Earth with no restrictions. Magic takes people’s attention away from what really matters in life. What really should hold power in this world.”

“Love?” Jisung innocently asked.

“BWAHAHA,” Viper laughed, dropping to the floor and tears forming in the corner of her eyes. “Jackal can we keep them around for a little longer? They’re perfect comedians!”

Jackal just rolled her eyes and stopped cleaning her rifle, checking her gold watch for the time. 

“Not love,” Bear continued. “Money. Imagine humans living in a world where magic no longer holds power, but instead money. Society could thrive in a way where the only advantage in life would be how much money you have. Think about it, self-made billionaires having more power than werewolves. Or wealthy families having more power than witches.”

“So let me get this straight,” Jisung started. “You guys are a bunch of animal-loving humans, so much so that you name yourselves after them? And you hate magic so much that for years you’ve been trying to stop it at all costs? And you support capitalism?”

“That’s what you got out of all this?” Seungmin asked in an annoyed voice.

“Well I have a short attention span and you know, I just wanted to clarify.”

Jackal slammed her foot against the desk, the sound echoing through the huge room. She cocked her rifle and pointed it at Jisung.

“If you interrupt my husband one more time I will shoot your brains out,” She growled.

This made the diurnal witch shut up, and the others stared at Jackal with wary looks.

“So anyways, you guys are in luck. While this may not be common knowledge to other humans, we know that witches can’t be easily killed. The only way for us to kill you is to extract your magical essence first. And Viper over here has been developing a poison that will both take away your magic and kill you from the inside out. It’ll be way more efficient than other methods of killing your kind,” Bear said.

Viper smiled brightly at them and chuckled. “Yup! It was all thanks to my two newest lab rats. By the way where are they? They’re missing out on all the fun.”

“I’ll gladly go get them for you,” Jackal said, slinging her rifle over her arm and walking out with some of the guards following behind her.

“So you’re planning on killing us?” Felix asked.

“Precisely. But Viper still needs to do a few finishing touches so you’ll have a few moments longer. I suggest you all say your goodbyes to one another. This’ll be the last time you ever see each other,” Bear grinned.

While Bear went over to chat about something in private with Viper the witches all faced each other. They were scared, horrified even for what was about to come.

“I could have died of old age but noooo. I just have to be killed by some psychotic humans. At least they’ll put me out of my misery,” Felix said, wincing at how hard the metal felt against his bandaged burns.

“Felix don’t say things like that. We’re going to find a way to get out of here,” Changbin assured him.

“But how?” Seungmin piped up. “Jeongin, do you know anything that could help us?”

The guilt finally caved in on the divination witch. “I actually knew all along that we’d end up in a situation like this.”

“What?!” Everyone else said in unison.

“Things were going to turn out bad no matter what we did. And Felix was hurt. I didn’t want us to do anything irrational that would land us in a worse situation.”

“Oh yeah because this isn’t the worst possible thing that could happen,” Changbin snarked. “You knew we were going to end up here and never said anything?”

“Well I didn’t know we’d specifically end up here. I just knew that we were in danger and there was no way of avoiding it,” Jeongin said.

Seungmin shut his eyes in defeat, a chill went up his spine. “Great. And now we’re gonna die.”

“No we’re not gonna die. Things aren’t going to go _that_ bad,” Jeongin argued.

“Well how do we know that, huh?” Seungmin challenged. “Okay, you know what? I’m not even sure I trust your abilities anymore. I’m not even sure if I trust _you_ anymore! There, I said it. I don’t care if you’re a divination witch and it’s your specialty or whatever. Ever since this whole journey started your interpretations don’t seem to be right anymore. Sure me and the others were willing to help, but I find it strange how you weren’t able to pick up on this happening in the future sooner. Do you always leave out details like you did today? Do you ever lie to us? Do you just pick and choose what you want to tell people?” 

Jeongin let out a shaky breath. “Seungmin... you know my powers don’t work like that-“

“No. I can’t stand you right now. You know why? Because what good did coming all the way here in the danger realm do for us? Now instead of four witches being in danger, it’s eight! And there was really no way for you to pick up on that? Not to mention that we’re obviously about to get killed and you claim that we’re not even though the odds are against us? I actually thought we were going to get in and get out of this realm safely, not die! Hurt maybe but wounds can always be fixed, death is permanent!”

Jeongin said nothing. Instead his eyes welled up with tears, his body tensing but being restricted because of the metal.

Seungmin let out a dry laugh. “You actually made me think things would be okay. You said there was going to be love in my future and even implied that I would get to be with Hyunjin. But no, none of it was ever true, was it?”

Now some might say that what Seungmin had said was cruel. But the art witch was currently in a life or death situation. For years he had been working so hard on his art career, spending years perfecting his craft and ignoring anything he deemed as an “distraction”. He’s missed out on so much and had so many regrets in that moment. He actually _did_ want to have a special someone in his life, but always pushed it to the side because he thought he wouldn’t have time for such things. And sure he had willingly agreed to go with Jeongin and find the four witches in the danger realm, but the younger never expressed that the journey would lead to their deaths. If the divination witch were to mention anything like that, Seungmin would have refused to go and stopped Jeongin and anyone else from going. But he trusted the younger, willing to face a little bit of danger for the sake of others before getting home safely. But to him, this obviously didn’t seem anything like that.

Hyunjin swallowed the lump in his throat and looked at the art witch. “Seungminnie, we’re going to get through this,” Hyunjin said softly.

Just then the doors opened up again and out stepped Jackal back carrying the end of two metal chains in her hand. Connected to the chains were two people, but one of them Jisung immediately recognized. One was a red-head wearing a white theater mask, and the other one had brown hair and was wearing a black theater mask. Their hands and feet were also restricted in metal contraptions, their steps heavy against the ground.

“Ooh, they’re finally here!” Viper smiled and clapped.

Jackal sat right back on the desk again. The two masked people stood close to each other, looking quite timid in front of everyone.

“Oh Jackal, the other witches are going to die anyways, we can take off their masks. I wanna see their terrified faces,” Viper pouted.

The poison specialist pulled the masks off of them revealing two boys. They both looked the same age and not too far off from the rest of the witches’ age group.

“Aw look at their little scared faces,” Viper cackled.

“One night while our soldiers were out killing off some vampires, we stumbled across young Donju and Deongmyeong here. They’re both witches but also twins, having opposite abilities from each other. I’m sure you’re familiar with the specialties of being ‘nocturnal’ and ‘diurnal’,” Bear said.

Jisung and Minho both glanced at each other, sharing the same thoughts. 

“They’ve been my lovely test subjects for developing the poison. And in return, we spare them or whatever,” Viper spoke up.

“I still vote we kill them off when they're no longer useful to us,” Jackal mumbled while swinging her legs up and down.

Bear just chuckled a little at what his wife said. “Although we already have a diurnal and nocturnal witch, it seems like we’ve caught ourselves another pair according to Deongmyeong. How interesting.”

“Can we wrap this up please? I wanna go clubbing later and I haven’t gotten ready yet,” Jackal said impatiently.

“Of course honey. Guards, roll them out!” Bear instructed. 

All of the witches were pushed out the room while Minho and Jisung’s eyes still remained on Dongju and Deongmyeong. They noticed now that the boys had bandages covering their arms, all the way from their wrists up to their sleeves. They looked scared, and they wanted to save them too, but what good would that be if they were all going to die? Minho and Jisung met eyes for what seemed like would be the last time. The nocturnal witch got one last glance at Jisung’s smile. It wasn’t as wide as it usually was, but it was still filled with hope, not ready to give up just yet. Minho was already feeding into the feeling of dread, not being as hopeful as the other. His vision started to blur from the tears filling his eyes and his mouth opened to scream but nothing came out. Soon they were separated, being rolled into different directions and possibly never seeing each other again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not that it matters, but Bear, Jackal, and Viper are actually based on some of my art OCs. I have a lot of them, and I thought that it would be fun for those three to play a part in this story since I don’t want to make any Kpop idols the bad guys.


	22. Chapter 22

_ Safety and stability. How these things can be at such a temporary status. Is there ever a moment in time where it’s possible to be truly safe? Or will danger lurk and stalk one like a predator, waiting for the moment to pounce when one finally thinks they’re secure. _

  
  


What did Minho have to lose? Well first of all, his life of course. This goes without saying. But there were other things he thought about in that moment.

While tears streamed down his face, crying through his immense fatigue, he thought about all of the other things he was going to lose. Changbin, the lunar witch who took him in and managed to befriend Minho. His cottage was the first place that ever felt like a true home to the nocturnal witch. They would spend almost every day together, the younger always asking Minho questions and jotting things down in his notebook. How he was going to miss the focused look on Changbin’s face whenever he studied the dark forest.

Minho cringed thinking about that location. The forest was now without his dark energy, without any dark energy in general. It was now weak, and the majority of the vegetation was destroyed. All of the creatures living in it, every mythical being and every animal, would be weak, homes and habitats being destroyed as well. 

He thought about Felix, the poor unfortunate kitchen witch. Since his sleep schedule wasn’t as strict as his friend’s, Minho had a few moments to see just how much Felix enjoyed his life. He was always cooking, baking, making, or experimenting with something. His mind was always filled with ideas, and Minho was going to miss being able to see the gears in Felix’s head turn when he tried making new things. He brought so much life into the cottage, and most importantly he was able to see how Felix would help Changbin. While Changbin’s knowledge on witchcraft was pretty extensive, Felix knew just as much as him, if not even more. He was a good addition in Changbin’s life, trying to break the lunar witch out of his perfectionistic ways and try new approaches at magic.

And last but not least was Jisung. How the pit in Minho’s stomach grew when he thought about the diurnal witch. Jisung was the brightest, purest person Minho had ever met. His bright smile was engraved in his brain, and he’d see it every time he closed his eyes, burned into his memory. While Jisung and Minho did not get to interact as much during the few days he’d known him, Minho’s heart still aches thinking about losing him. He had shown Jisung his cat spirits, he had fought alongside him, and when Minho was losing control over his powers Jisung went in to hug him, suffering through the pain but refusing to let go. The diurnal witch was such a positive and optimistic person, and never before did pessimistic Minho ever think he’d connect with a person like that. Their specialties were literally night and day, and yet, they connected in a way Minho couldn’t even imagine happening. 

His mind drifted off to the twins, Donju and Deongmyeong. He wondered what it was like for them to grow up together having opposite powers. Did they weaken each other, or were they stronger together? How long have they been kept by the Claw Clan? Did they connect with each other in a way that no one else could understand?

The nocturnal witch’s balled fists relaxed as he started to nod off, his body longing for sleep. He’d been staying awake this whole time on edge for so long that he naturally wanted to doze off before the moon came out. By then he would really be awake. As he closed his eyes and felt his last moments before his slumber, he thought about Jisung and how deeply he would miss him, being one of the best things that ever happened to Minho’s miserable life.

  
  


Chan understandably had many regrets. He was all for helping others, but where his previous decisions led him up to were just too insane. He wanted to get himself and the others out of there so badly, but he couldn’t think of anything this time. He wouldn’t even know where to start.

Despite being a music witch, he never truly got to explore his powers, living in a world where that could get him killed. In fact out of all of them, he felt like he was the weakest witch there because he’d never used his powers before. This made him mad. Why was his specialty music? What good could music ever do for him in a situation like this? He wished he was stronger, he wished he had more experience to help the other witches. It was in Chan’s nature to want to protect others. He had been looking out for his brother and sister ever since they were born, and he swore to protect them from any harm that would come their way, especially when their parents passed away. Alongside his grandmother, he made sure to take care of them the best he could. The thought of the Claw Clan getting to them made Chan’s blood boil. The thought of humans eradicating every single mythical being on Earth made him sick to his stomach. He really felt that the humans that captured him and the others were sick in the head, trying to ensure a world where nothing would stand in the way of humans being controlled by greed, money being the only thing to determine a person’s strength.

He looked around the empty white room one more time, trying to look at anything that could help him escape. But the cameras were watching his every move, and he was tied down with no way to get up or use his magic. He let his eyes drop to the floor and stared at the ground. It really did feel like things were coming to an end.

  
  


Felix could barely think clearly in the first place. With his painkillers starting to wear off and his bandages getting itchy, he wasn’t sure how much more he could take, and just sitting there feeling like there was nothing he could do didn’t make him feel any better. He tried to be like Jisung, thinking about the best case scenario. But chances of escaping seemed slim. 

He started to think about Seungmin’s words, what he had said to Jeongin. It’s not that Felix agreed with every single thing the art witch said at him, but he did think about some of his questions. Why wasn’t Jeongin able to see that they were going to die in their future? And his interpretations have seemingly been off ever since they started this journey? Jeongin’s intuition seemed to be right in guiding them to where the witches in the danger realm were. He was right about most things, and he was cautious. The fact that Jeongin kept away the information of knowing they were in danger must have been for some type of reason. He’s known the divination witch for a long time so he was pretty sure Jeongin wouldn’t just keep things from them for no reason. The younger was a prodigy in his school years, and surely he was just trying to be smart and prevent things from getting more out of hand than they already have.

But that was all wishful thinking for Felix. Jisung had definitely rubbed off on him in many ways. He still wanted to believe that even with all of this, from the explosion he had survived to his captivity, that Jeongin had told him and everyone else the truth all of those other times. Felix wanted to believe that everything he’s been through for the last few days was beyond what Jeongin could see, and there wasn’t actually anything that came to the younger which hinted at their deaths. 

While Felix’s eyes gazed over his bandages, he couldn’t help but think about the lunar witch who had saved him. He never got to properly say goodbye to the older, didn’t he? 

Felix let out a shaky breath. Of course he forgot to, he was barely following everything back there, it was only hitting him now that he’d probably never see Changbin again. 

Sure the lunar witch had his grumpy moments, but Felix will never forget how much he enjoyed being around the older. Soulmates. That idea made Felix smile to himself a little, despite feeling the tears form in his eyes. He couldn’t pinpoint if it was from the feeling of physical pain slowly coming back to him, or from the memories of all of the times the kitchen witch had shared with Changbin. There was still so much more Felix wanted to say to him, preferably in a better state of mind that wasn’t so fogged by the 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his body. He wanted to show Changbin his bakery back home, he wanted to show him around the safe realm, and he definitely wanted to show Changbin all of the reasons why he found him so special. The kitchen witch wondered what could’ve been if they had made it back safely and gone to the other side of the portal. Maybe in another life, the two could meet up again and spend more time with each other under better circumstances.

  
  


Jeongin couldn’t help the sobs coming out of his mouth. His body trembled, Seungmin’s words repeating over and over in his head like a broken record. Sure Jeongin kept a secret from the others, but he’d been feeling guilty about it the whole time. He didn’t know Seungmin would lash out at him like that. It made Jeongin question himself. If the art witch didn’t believe in his abilities anymore, then how could the others? This made Jeongin doubt himself. For years he had made a career out of his fortune telling like most divination witches did, but what if he was in the wrong? What if he actually couldn’t tell the future as well as other people with his specialty? He felt like a failure, to his friends and to himself.

He desperately wanted to clear his head and meditate once again to see if he could pick up anything from his own future, but there was no way he could calm down enough for that. 

The divination witch choked on a sob with how useless he felt. Even if he could read his own future, what was the point? With his head full of doubts, he wouldn’t even trust what he felt anymore. He no longer felt as confident in his interpretations like he used to. Because of him, everyone else might die. Back then, what if he  _ did  _ tell them about their predicament before they got captured? What if they found another way to get out of danger and go back to the safe realm together? If Jeongin was wrong about his prediction, maybe they could have avoided being in this situation in the first place...

“This is all my fault,” Jeongin whispered to himself.

  
  


Seungmin was mad, but there was no one who he was more mad at than himself. He really shouldn’t have jumped into this journey so blindly, shouldn’t he? Blinded by friendship, blinded in wanting to help out. Thinking back he felt so stupid at how impulsive he was, willing to put himself in danger like this. 

A bitter laugh escaped his lips while thinking about a certain sea witch. For once in Seungmin’s life, he had let himself fall for someone. He actually started to get his hopes up at the idea of them being together. But that was never going to happen now. He thought back on all of the moments him and Hyunjin had shared. Walking on the beach that second night of knowing each other, talking for hours and hours about almost anything that they could fit in that time. Or when Seungmin went with Hyunjin to the underwater civilization for the first time, showing him where he lived and the art witch meeting some of the most important people in Hyunjin’s life. Or when they went underwater the second time to talk with Jinyoung. The elder’s words rang in his head.

_ It’s always been hard for me to let Hyunjin go on his own to the surface without knowing if he’ll come back or not. I want you two to take care of him. Especially you. _

Seungmin cringed. ‘Such a good job I did with those instructions’, he thought. 

The art witch had brought Hyunjin along on a trip that would possibly lead to his death. Seungmin regretted ever convincing him to come with. Maybe if Hyunjin had just been a little more stubborn and had refused to listen to Seungmin’s words, he’d be safe right now by the sea. The older didn’t deserve this. Seungmin didn’t deserve Hyunjin. Even if they were supposed to have a future together, how on Earth was Hyunjin going to be happy with a person like him? Seungmin sometimes felt like an uptight anxious mess and there’s no way he could ever think of a significant other who wouldn’t mind those qualities in him.

Seungmin balled his fist and he stared up at himself in his camera view on the screen, the device positioned in the corner of the room. If only things could have gone differently. If only Seungmin hadn’t been so foolish. If only him and his friends weren’t trapped right now.

  
  


Jisung wasn’t about to give in to the negativity. Sure, they were in a life threatening situation that could possibly lead to their deaths, but anything could happen. Jeongin had mentioned earlier that they weren’t going to die, so that must mean that when Jeongin meditated, he didn’t sense a threat so bad that they’d be killed. This gave the diurnal witch hope.

It was always in his nature to look on the bright side of things, no matter what situation he was in. While things looked really bad, he didn’t even think for a second to cry and mope around. 

He got startled when one of the doors in the room opened. There was Viper holding the ends of two chains in her hands, connected to Dongju and Deongmyeong. She wore her usual menacing smile while approaching Jisung.

“I see you’re still in a good mood,” She said curiously.

“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” Jisung shot back at her.

The poison specialist put a hand on her chest and laughed. “Wow, you’re so naïve. Even when you’re about to die, you’re still smiling like an idiot.”

“Well Miss, I do smile for a reason after all,” Jisung said.

“Oh, and what’s that?”

“I have faith in myself and my friends. We’re gonna get out of here, we’re gonna beat you and your bosses up, and then this whole Claw Clan thing will be over for good so no more innocent lives have to die.”

Viper cackled, pulling the chains in her hand forward and the two twins walking closer to her. “You make me laugh. Such a fighting spirit you have. I wonder just how long it’ll take for you to crumble and accept your fate.”

“You’re wrong! I’ll never give up. I’ll never give up even before the moment I die. I’ve learned that doing that gets you nowhere in life. The moment I give up is the moment where I’ll die for sure.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Viper waved him off. “I guess I’ll just have to hold you down tighter once I poison you. Gosh, the thought of stabbing a needle in your skin and getting you to shut up sounds delightful right about now!”

Jisung leaned as far as he could in his chair to get in her face. “You’re sick,” He muttered.

Viper giggled. “I know. Anywho, just wanted to stop by and maybe get you acquainted with the little munchkins that help me out so much. Right?”

The two twins avoided her eyes, just looking to the ground and trying their best not to tremble in fear from her presence.

“You’ve got five minutes. Make it count, you diurnal witch,” Viper spat.

Jisung’s eyes watched her as she stepped through the open door and then his gaze went on the twins.

“You, I recognize you from the forest,” Jisung said to the red-head.

“I’m so sorry,” He apologized in a small voice, avoiding Jisung’s eyes.

“Hey it’s okay, don’t worry about it. You were probably just taking orders, right?” Jisung asked.

The red hair nodded, turning his gaze to his brother. “Me and Dongju are sorry about any damage we may have caused you or your friends. We’re just terrified of what would happen if we didn’t do what we were told,” He sniffed.

Jisung smiled sympathetically at Deongmyeong. “It’s okay, really. Put that type of stuff past you, it’s not good to dwell on it. I promise that we’ll get you guys out of here and stop those evil humans.”

“But how? There’s no way of escaping here, especially when we can’t use our magic,” Donju said, lifting his hands higher in the air to emphasize the metal encased around them.

“I don’t know yet but trust me, we will get you guys to safety. I can’t imagine how long you’ve spent here,” Jisung said, looking at the bandages on their arms again. “Has that Viper woman been experimenting on you guys?”

Donju shuddered. “Yeah. She’s been taking magic and DNA samples from us ever since we got here. The types of tests and torture we go through is...” He stopped, not wanting to finish.

“We’ve lost track of time, but we’ve easily been here for a few years,” said Deongmyeong. “It’s been so long since either of us has seen the sun or moon, that we go to sleep and wake up at the same time. That never used to happen.”

“Oh I’ll make sure that you and your brother see the sun and moon again if it’s the last thing I do!” Jisung smiled confidently.

The twins tensed, looking at the bright boy and then each other. He really wasn’t going to give up, wasn’t he?

“OKAY, time is up,” Viper announced while walking in. “I hope you guys played nice. Now it’s time to say goodbye forever~”

“Hang in there,” Jisung said to the twins.

“We’ll try,” Deongmyeong sighed sadly, following after his twin.

They both looked back at Jisung one more time before following Viper out the door. It closed behind him, leaving Jisung back in his white room of nothingness.

  
  


Changbin looked up at the cameras on the ceiling and then around his room again. He just wanted to do something, anything that would get his mind off of the danger he was in right now.

His mind drifted to Felix as he was extremely concerned about the kitchen witch at that moment. If the Claw Clan really did plan on poisoning them, Felix’s weak body would definitely give out the fastest, making him an easy target. The lunar witch had struggled against the metal so much that red marks stained his skin, but none of that mattered because he had to get out of here. He had to know that the others were okay. He had to know if Felix was okay.

These humans that captured all of them, putting them in these rooms only for the witches to await their deaths, made Changbin’s hatred for the creatures grow even more. Humans had taken everything away from him. His family, his home, his friends, and eventually they would take away his life. They were going to take away Felix’s life...

After a rage-filled moment at shouting at the cameras and ending it with a complaint that he couldn’t even have the freedom of going to the bathroom, all of the metal except for his hands and feet came off. Then one of the doors in the room opened, leading to a small separate room that acted as a bathroom. Numbers suddenly appeared above the door, counting down from five minutes.

_ That’s weird. I guess these humans aren’t entirely vile in that sense. _

He just took the opportunity to use it, finding the experience awkward when he couldn’t use his hands. He reluctantly walked back out of the room, having to carefully step up because the actual bathroom’s floor level was a little lower than the rest. When he exited the door he looked around again. He walked down the side of the room and pounded on the other door of the opposite wall, trying to open it. But it was no use.

When the timer above the door got to zero, the bathroom door slammed shut and a loud, annoying alarm set off. Changbin cringed, not being able to cover his hearing from the ear-splitting sound. 

“ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, I’LL GO BACK IN YOUR CHAIR OF DOOM OR WHATEVER,” He shouted above the alarm.

He dragged his feet to the metal chair and sat back in it, wincing as he felt the metal wrap tightly around his body again, keeping him in place. The alarm thankfully stopped, and Changbin took a deep breath. This was definitely the last place he wanted to be in before he died.

  
  


Hyunjin bit his lip out of nervousness. He hadn’t known Jeongin for that long, but with what he had gotten so accurate in the past, it was hard to believe that the younger’s interpretations were wrong. Hyunjin didn’t know anything about that kind of stuff or fully of how Jeongin’s powers worked, but if he said that they weren’t going to die then Hyunjin believed him, at least, he did as a last resort to hold on to his sanity.

He thought about Chan, the older probably not taking this all so well. Knowing him the music witch was probably caught up in worrying about everything and everyone. It made Hyunjin sad that he wasn’t with Chan at that moment to comfort him. For the time that they knew each other, Chan would be comfortable talking with Hyunjin about his concerns, the sea witch never judging or dismissing them. In between song-making they’d have long talks about life, and Chan’s life was full of stressors that kept him up at night. All Hyunjin could do was be there for him and try to encourage him to get some rest, even though he understood that it wasn’t easy for the older.

He thought back to the sea, the only place he’s ever lived. How he wanted to look over the beautiful light blue waters again. He also missed his hyungs dearly, never really having experienced being away from them for this long. Sure Jinyoung let him go his own way, and sure that Hyunjin learned how to be independent after a while, but that doesn’t change the fact that the sea was his home. He’s always had a connection with it, practicing his magic on the beach and going in the water to the civilization under there.

Then he thought about Seungmin. He was really concerned about Seungmin. Seeing him lash out at his best friend was something Hyunjin thought he’d never see from him. All throughout his rant, his eyes were filled with fear, and behind all of that anger he could sense disappointment in the art witch. Disappointment directed at Jeongin, and mainly disappointment in himself. It was heartbreaking, and Hyunjin never ever wanted Seungmin to feel like that again.

Just like Changbin did, Hyunjin had figured out that they were allowed to have five minute bathroom breaks after asking, just trying it out of curiosity. After using the bathroom and flushing, he was about to walk out when his eyes landed on his amulet he was still wearing, the one with the sigil on it. The silver and the aquamarine from the gem illuminated, Hyunjin feeling the magic that radiated off of it. He remembered Seungmin’s words from before.

_ Just wear it and visualize what you want to happen. What threats you want to protect yourself from and so on. Just kind of practice that mindfulness as much as you can. _

The sea witch had almost forgotten he was wearing it, being so caught up with everything else. He closed his eyes and focused on its magic, making sure he was away from any of the camera views that might catch him. He thought about being trapped in that white room, he thought about the Claw Clan and the evil humans running it, but most importantly he thought about the idea of him and the other witches losing their lives.

When he opened his eyes the amulet had stopped glowing. He thought nothing had happened until his eyes landed on the toilet again. The water inside floated up into the air, just staying there. The sea witch’s eyes widened. Sure in books he had read about the water manipulation skills a witch like him could have, and he’s tried practicing it a few times, but he was never able to move more than probably a cup worth of water around.

Hyunjin lightly laughed as he controlled the water in the air with his mind, making it move in all directions and getting the floor wet.

“TEN SECONDS REMAINING,” An automated voice said.

Hyunjin dropped the water back into the toilet and quickly got out of the bathroom, scared of what might happen if he didn’t. The door then slammed behind him making the sea witch jump. An obnoxious alarm sounded and Hyunjin panicked, sitting in his chair without hesitation. The metal around him slammed back into place and the alarm cut off. After a few seconds of sitting there, he opened his eyes back up again after he had shut them tight. His body loosened a bit when everything was silent again and his eyes went back to the door that led to the bathroom. If there was a toilet, there were probably pipes too that were filled with water. He also noted how the shut door was completely closed, no gap above or below the door. Hyunjin got an idea. He was going to have to be smart about this, but if it worked, he would successfully get out of there.


	23. Chapter 23

“Guess who’s almost done developing the poison~” Viper sang.

She skipped into the large office room where Bear and Jackal were discussing something. They looked up at her with excitement.

“When will it be ready?” Bear asked.

Viper checked her watch. “Hm... around midnight. I’ll still be here by then so I’ll go ahead and inject them! You guys wanna watch?”

Jackal smirked. “As much as I’d liked to, Bear and I also have another plan for tonight.”

“What is it?” The poison specialist asked.

“Well,” Bear started. “Through some connections we got information that under the sea near the city, there’s a whole civilization of merpeople. They must have been hiding extremely well for them not being on our radar. But tonight we plan on doing the sea a favor and getting rid of those monsters.”

“But aren’t merpeople half human? What possible magic could they hold?” Viper questioned.

“Based on tales and legends about them, some have been able to perform magic. Whether that’s true or not today is beyond our knowledge, but we’re going to get rid of them regardless,” Jackal explained.

Viper made an ‘o’ face, understanding now. “Well that sounds lovely! I guess we’re going to make real progress today!”

Bear let out a light chuckle. “We sure are. If that poison of yours works, we could quickly put an end to all of the witches hiding among human society.”

“Finally. I don’t want those dirty creatures walking up and down the street doing who knows what. Probably gifting the poor with spells of fortune or luck out of pity,” Jackal spat.

“I assure you witches will be no more once this works,” Viper giggled.

She skipped down to the end of the room and headed towards the exit. Once she stood in front of the wooden doors she stopped and turned around.

“And one more thing. Are we actually going to kill Dongju and Deongymyeong?”

Bear and Jackal looked at each other and grinned, then turned back to the poison specialist.

“What do you take us for? Some kind of angels?” Jackal laughed.

Viper smiled back at them and nodded before exiting the room, ready to go back to her lab on a higher floor and check how the poison was coming along.

  
  


Hyunjin looked back at the cameras and then back at the bathroom door. He decided it was time.

“Weird automated system thingy? Can I go to the bathroom again?” He asked.

He was suddenly released from his metal bindings and stood up on his feet, his lips moving into a smirk. As soon as the bathroom door opened, a huge flood of water came gushing out. With the power from the protection sigil, he made the water move up and towards the cameras, the water pressure instantly taking the machines out. An alarm sounded but Hyunjin couldn’t care one bit. He made the water go in between the metal contraptions placed on his hands and feet and pushed the liquid outward, bending the metal just enough for Hyunjin to free himself. Once he got out of them, mana flared up around his hands, his body feeling more ready than ever to release his magic.

With one flick of his arm, the water shot at the exit door and broke it, causing it to fly forward. At this point guards had been running up to the room, but they were immediately pushed back by the flood that came their way. Hyunjin ran past them and out of the room, the water practically following beside him. Each time a guard got in his way, he would just take them out before they could shoot at him. He ran to another door and shot water at it to take it down. He looked inside the room and there was Chan looking like a deer in headlights.

“Hyunjin?” The music witch managed to say.

“We have to get out of here. No time to explain,” Hyunjin panted.

Like he did with himself, he controlled the water to push against the metal that restrained Chan and gave the older enough room to move free. He got up and turned to Hyunjin.

“What’s our next move?” Chan asked.

“Freeing the other and getting the hell out of here,” Hyunjin said.

“I like that plan.”

They both rushed out but quite a few guards crowded their way. Hyunjin did the best he could to try and push them back with water as they booked it down the hall. They stopped at another door and Hyunjin broke down the door again. There inside was Jisung dozing off in his seat. Chan had remembered his name because every witch got the chance to introduce themselves a little bit while waiting in the hospital.

“Jisung! Jisung wake up!” Chan shouted.

The diurnal witch didn’t even flinch, still fast asleep. Hyunjin looked back at the doorway and then at Jisung. They didn’t have time for this.

“I free him, you carry him. Can you do that?” Hyunjin asked.

Chan nodded and then moved out the way. Hyunjin sent a blast of water and freed Jisung, Chan then scooping the diurnal witch in his arms and carrying him.

“If he’s a diurnal witch and he’s fast asleep right now, that must mean it’s night,” Chan mentioned.

They ran down the halls one by one freeing the other witches until they finally got to Felix last. With Felix’s injury, Changbin carried him with no hesitation. Chan’s arms were also starting to get sore, so Minho carried Jisung for him. That was until a whole wave of guards came their way and Hyunjin’s water wasn’t enough to back them up. 

In this dangerous situation, Chan listened to everyone’s sound. He could hear the crashing waves inside Hyunjin, the wolves howling at the full moon inside Changbin, the dark whispers of the night inside Minho, the light sounds of a paintbrush moving across a canvas inside Seungmin, the white noise of twinkly wind chimes inside Jisung, the sounds of cards stacking and shuffling inside Jeongin, and slightly fainter sounds of bubbling and sizzling coming from a kitchen inside Felix. All of these sounds mixed together in Chan’s head played like the most complicated music composition he’s ever heard in his life. Never before has he focused and so many people’s sounds all at once. It was all mixed together, sounding like one song blasting in soul. 

The music witch walked forward in front of everyone and the others watched him in horror as he started to walk towards a large group of soldiers. It was almost like the music witch was in a trance. He thought about all of the times he had suppressed magic, letting it build up inside him and eventually fizzle out. But not this time. This time, he wasn’t going to hold himself back anymore. Huge amount of mana built up around his hands and he unflinchingly stared at the soldiers headed towards him.

“Chan what are you doing?! Get back!” Hyunjin yelled.

The sea witch tried his best to send a wave of water over his way to protect Chan, but nothing could have prepared him for what came next.

Chan looked at his hands again and then back at the soldiers. He smiled a little, dimples on full display. He clapped his hands and the mana covering both of them quickly molded together and blasted out. A sonic boom bolted forward and took out anyone in it’s way, the forceful sound traveling so far that even many behind the frontline of soldiers were taken out. And bullets that were shot at him were immediately pushed back.

Everyone gawked at him, all of their ears ringing from standing in the vicinity of the attack. 

“Since when could you do that? I thought you’ve never used your magic before?!” Hyunjin asked loudly, his eardrums trying to get back to normal again.

Chan just flashed the sea witch a grin. “That was actually a first for me. I don’t think grandma would be too mad at me if I used it this time.”

They all continued to move forward, deciding to take the stairs instead of the creepy elevator.

“Which way do we go?” Seungmin asked while looking at the stairs going up, and then the stairs going down.

“I would assume down, if we’re inside a building,” Changbin said.

They all nodded, going down the dimly lit stairs and making their way down. At the bottom there were a bunch of guards but Hyunjin and Chan easily took them out. The sea witch knocked down the door and looked down at the huge pair of wooden doors at the end of the hall.

“Where the hell is the exit?” Minho asked while looking around.

“I guess we have to take down those humans to get out of here,” Jeongin said.

They took out any guards that were in their way and Hyunjin, using all of his strength, blasted the water against the doors, making them fly open but not quite throwing them off their hinges.

“Dang Cat. She can never get my coffee order right. Why did we even hire her as our assistant-“ Jackal’s head snapped towards the door that flew open and the flood of water that followed after it. Her eyes landed on all eight of the witches standing there and she huffed, reaching out for her rifle under the desk.

“Well it looks like our witches are trying to make a run for it,” Bear growled.

Chan didn’t hesitate to clap his hands together again and send a massive sound wave their way, but Jackal grabbed on to Bear and they ran quickly out the way just in time, dodging it. The woman cocked her rifle and tried shooting at them, her teeth gritting together in rage.

Just then the biggest wave of guards yet came running in and the witches did their best to fight them off.

“Jeez, how many humans do they have on their side?!” Chan grunted.

“When it comes to money, I guess you can pay humans to do anything even if they don’t believe in your cause,” Hyunjin said.

When Chan and Hyunjin alone couldn’t hold them off, Minho and Changbin just exchanged looks and knew exactly what the other was thinking. 

“If you drop him, I’ll drop kick you,” Changbin said while handing Felix off to Jeongin.

The divination witch’s eyes widened but he quickly grasped on to Felix’s limp body, taking him in his arms.

“What are you going to do?” Seungmin asked when Minho handed Jisung off to him.

“We’re going to keep you guys alive, that’s what we’re gonna do,” Minho said like it was the most obvious thing ever.

The lunar witch and nocturnal witch stepped forward, mana dancing around their hands that started to spiral outward. Changbin could tell it wasn’t a full moon that night and his abilities weren’t as powerful as they could have been, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. 

He closed his eyes and embraced the energy of the moon above him, his eyes opening as soon as he felt he was charged enough. While this was happening Minho sent dark clouds in the way of some soldiers, engulfing them and suffocating the humans until they couldn’t breathe anymore. Changbin looked at some other soldiers coming his way and mumbled a spell underneath his breath. Some of the humans suddenly dropped down to their knees in pain, holding their hands over their hearts, their breaths becoming labored and rapid.

“What did you do to them?” Minho stared at the humans and then Changbin in shock.

“Gave them heart attacks. Never thought I would have to use that spell,” Changbin shrugged.

Minho lightly laughed and then went back to fighting. All of the witches fighting off the humans were fighting for their lives, but the battle seemed never ending. As the minutes passed by the other witches were getting tired, especially Hyunjin and Chan who first started fighting with their magic.

“Okay is it just me or do you feel completely useless right now?” Jeongin said, timidly speaking up to Seungmin.

Seungmin sighed. “I’m glad I’m not the only one. If only I had my wand with me. Or even a simple pen or pencil would do.”

“Yeah. I’m a divination witch so I don’t have any attacks or fighting skills up my sleeves.”

After a few moments of silence between them Seungmin looked up at Jeongin. “Innie, I thought it over and I’m sorry about all of the things I said. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“It’s okay, I forgive you. I should have just told you all the truth in the first place. The whole reason why we’re here is because of me,” Jeongin sniffled.

“What? Don’t say that. This wasn’t because of you at all, and I’m sorry if I made you think it was. I’m so so sorry.”

“You’re okay. If we manage to get out of here, let’s put all of this behind us. I don’t want to lose my best friend.”

“Of course,” Seungmin said, his voice wavering a bit.

A layer of sweat formed on Minho’s forehead while he sent more clouds of dark smoke. There was no way they were able to hold them all back forever. But then he thought back to a witch on their side who had powerful fighting skills as well. He thought that if light from the moon could wake Minho up, then why couldn’t light from the sun wake the diurnal witch up?

“Changbin, please tell me you have a sun spell,” Minho said.

“Sun spell? What good would that do right now?” 

“If you have a spell that could emit some sunlight, can you please use it to wake up Jisung?” He asked.

Changbin nodded and made his way behind the others to where Seungmin was standing. He whispered something under his breath and raised his hand, a small sliver beam of light glowing down on Jisung’s face. The diurnal witch stirred awake, yawning while his eyelids fluttered open.

“What’s going on?” He paused for a second. “Seungmin?” He asked looking up at the art witch.

“Finally you’re awake. We’ll explain later but right now we’re pretty much being attacked,” Seungmin said while setting Jisung down on his feet.

The diurnal witch took a look around the chaos and his eyes widened. Him and Changbin instantly ran back forward and started to fight off the soldiers. Jisung blasted beams of light at some of the soldiers coming up to him, slicing his hand horizontally and burning the soldiers in the front row.

“So we all escaped and I was asleep the whole time?! I hate my body,” Jisung sighed heavily.

“That’s alright. It’s good to have you back now,” Minho said to him.

Even with the addition of Jisung fighting, they were still greatly outnumbered. Hyunjin was panting heavily now trying to catch his breath and Chan didn’t have nearly enough power to his claps as he did moments ago. 

“There’s too many of them! What are we going to do?” Minho asked.

“I don’t know. But we can’t give up yet,” Jisung swallowed.

Suddenly the ground started shaking, the vibrations coming from behind them. The witches were too occupied to look back, but the footsteps started to pick up closer and faster to them.

“OH HELL NO!” A person shouted.

Changbin’s eyes widened. There was only one person in the world that voice could belong too.

Sure enough, a vampire jumped over all of the witches and landed, dodging all of the bullets shot at him with inhumane reflexes.

“San? What are you doing here?” Changbin asked, relieved but also confused.

A vampire Changbin recognized as Mingi ran past them and turned to Changbin. “Like we would ever let you guys go to a human hospital without following you!” Mingi said to the witch.

Sure enough when Changbin looked behind him, a bunch of creatures from the forest were there. A huge crowd of vampires, werewolves, and other creatures came running to their aid. They all charged in, not being afraid to let loose and attack the people who destroyed their home.

“How did you even find us?” Changbin asked one vampire named Yunho.

“Once you left we sent out a werewolf to follow you guys. When they witnessed you all getting carried into a suspicious truck he ran back and reported it to all of us. He followed your scents and it led us to this suspicious empty looking warehouse guarded by humans. We thought we had the wrong place for a while but then an alarm started and the guards left their posts and went down this secret elevator. We kinda followed them and arrived down here finding you guys.”

“Wait so we’re all the way underground? Like this Claw Clan is a literal underground group? No wonder this place had no windows!” Jisung exclaimed.

Seungmin and Jeongin watched the huge blur of people fighting each other. Some magical creatures were getting shot, but for the most part human soldiers were getting injured and dying left and right.

Jongho attacked one soldiers’ neck and then let the human drop to the ground. “Ew, I can’t believe our ancestors used to drink this stuff,” He spat.

Chan furrowed his eyebrows at him. “But I thought-“

“Those are all outdated stereotypes kept around by humans,” Mingi started. “No, we do not drink human blood. No, we do not burn up in the sun. And no, we do not fall in love with random teenage human girls.”

San laughed at that before running in a different direction to try and help Wooyoung fight off some soldiers coming his way. 

Jisung took a moment to catch his breath and then looked towards the front of the room at Bear and Jackal, spotting them still taking cover under the desk. He looked around and then saw a clear path to get to their way. If he could just quickly blind the two humans, he could easily take them out. He narrowed his eyes in their direction and bolted past everyone, heading towards the desk.

“JISUNG WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Minho shouted after him. 

The diurnal witch had tunnel vision as he got to the right angle facing the humans and shot a beam of light towards their faces, blinding them. He jumped into the air and he was about to let out a slash of light to burn the two. But Jisung was close to them at this point, and unbeknownst to him, Jackal was a sharpshooter, and she now had an easy target. 


	24. Chapter 24

Minho watched in horror as Jackal pulled the trigger and a bullet shot the diurnal witch right in the chest. Jisung then weakly landed on the ground, hitting it with a thump. The nocturnal witch screamed and shot out a big wave of smoke in front of him, powerfully passing through a line of soldiers and instantly suffocating them. He ran over to Jisung. He knew that the other wouldn’t die of a bullet wound, they were witches after all, but what really threw him off the edge though was a certain green-haired human approaching Jisung and pulling a needle out of her pocket, squatting next to the now injured boy. Viper must have slipped by through all of the chaos going on in that big room. A sadistic glint flashed in her eyes before bringing the needle down into Jisung’s arm. Minho lunged forward and sent a dark cloud of smoke her way, making the poison specialist stop in the middle of injecting the contents of the shot into Jisung. 

Viper fell to the side, holding her neck and gasping for air. Minho then quickly snapped his head the other way and sent another cloud of smoke, this one hanging around Bear and Jackal’s heads. Jackal dropped her rifle and trembled, her lungs feeling like they were on fire. Bear in his last moments got closer to his wife, not even being able to see her, but feeling her beside him for one last time.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?” Minho yelled at Viper.

Even while fighting for air, Viper looked up at the nocturnal witch, her lips trying to curl up into a smile. “I... injected him with... with the poison.”

Minho’s eyes widened as he looked at Jisung. The witch was laying on the ground coughing, gold speckled smoke coming out from his lips. His magic was starting to leave his body. 

“You monster. You absolute monster!” He spat at Viper.

All the human did was giggle a little before choking again. “He’s probably... probably only got a few more hours.... It would be fun to... see you try and s-save him.”

Minho looked at her in disgust and then tightened his fists, his cloud of smoke around her getting incredibly dark and knocking her out, her body finally giving up as she laid lifelessly on the floor.

The nocturnal witch then went next to Jisung, Minho’s eyes glassy with tears. He got on his knees and his shaky hands hovered over Jisung, not knowing what to do. 

“No no no no, I can’t lose you,” Minho cried, his tears finally streaming down his face.

The diurnal witch weakly looked up at him, blood staining the side of his mouth and his youthful glow starting to fade. “But I’m not lost, Minho. I’m right here,” Jisung said in a shaky voice.

Minho then saw Jisung smile, that same smile that was always showing in his head. How bright Jisung’s smile was even in his most painful moments.

“Stop smiling! How can you be so goddamn happy even when you’re dying?” Minho sobbed.

Jisung slowly put a hand up to Minho’s face, weakly wiping away the older’s tears. He coughed a little bit, more magic escaping his body. 

“Because Minho, I don’t want you to be sad.”

Less and less humans were coming their way and mainly the creatures of the forest were fighting them off. The rest of the witches stepped over the dead human bodies and rushed to the scene where Minho was kneeling beside Jisung.

“Oh my god,” Seungmin gasped, getting on his knees too and checking Jisung over. “His magic...”

Throughout all of this Felix was really out of it, just wincing from the pain he felt in his right side. He didn’t talk much, wanting to save his strength. But when he saw Jisung in the corner of his eye laying down on the floor dying, something finally snapped in him.

“Wait Wait Jeongin tell me what’s going on, what’s happening to Jisung?” He asked desperately while wriggling in the divination witch’s grasp.

“I-I think he was injected with that poison. The one that takes away our magic and kills us,” Jeongin breathed with wide eyes.

“Magic,” Felix mumbled under his breath. His eyes looked to the half filled syringe on the ground and some other ones that fell out of Viper’s lab coat. “Magic... wait that’s it!”

All of the witches except Minho and Jisung looked in Felix’s direction. 

“What’s it?” Chan asked.

“If the poison-“ Felix stopped, being interrupted by a coughing fit. “Woah sorry about that, don’t know where that came from. Anyways, if this poison  _ takes away  _ magic, it must have  _ taken  _ magic to make it.”

“Okay so?” Jeongin prompted.

“So this poison qualifies as a potion if it has magic in it. If I can get to that evil human lady’s lab which must be somewhere in the building, I can take the original poison and make an antidote with it,” Felix explained.

Minho finally was listening in, and his eyes went to the kitchen witch. “But Jisung might only have a few hours Felix.”

The kitchen witch just smiled slightly, his eyes moving onto Changbin. “Well good thing there’s another witch here that knows just as much about potions as I do.”

Everyone’s eyes landed on Changbin and the lunar witch narrowed his gaze at the freckled boy. “But Felix, can we even develop an antidote that fast? We know nothing about the contents in the poison.”

“Well with two bright minds we’ll work twice as fast. Jeez Jisung, your optimism really rubbed off on me,” Felix said.

From the floor Jisung weakly giggled and his eyes landed on the kitchen witch. “You’re welcome.”

“Hey guys—oh, is he okay?” Hongjoong said as he approached the witches.

“No!” Minho said bitterly while looking down at Jisung, the diurnal witch still smiling despite the pain he was in.

“Right... well anyways I think we killed all of the human soldiers in this building. But Yeosang told me that before we went inside here he saw a bunch of trucks leaving. Said there were barrels of stuff being loaded before taking off. Do you know what that could be about?” Hongjoong asked.

Changbin looked around and everyone else just shook their heads. “We don’t know anything about that. Did any of you catch where the trucks were going?”

Hongjoong turned back and then spotted Seonghwa. “Hey, did Yeosang say where those trucks were going?”

Seonghwa furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember. “I think he said they were headed in the direction of the sea.”

A lump formed in Hyunjin’s throat when he heard the vampire’s words.


	25. Chapter 25

Seungmin’s eyes widened and immediately looked at Hyunjin. The sea witch’s completion was slowly losing color, his shaky hands coming up to his mouth.

“Whatever is in those barrels, it can’t be good. We should go Hyunjin,” Chan said.

Hyunjin wordlessly nodded, going to Chan’s side and the music witch wrapping his arm around him, gently rubbing his shoulder. “It’s gonna be fine. Let’s get there before anything happens alright?”

“What’s happening?” Changbin asked them. “Why do we care about the sea?”

“Because there are merpeople living down there. And considering all the things these humans have done, I wouldn’t be surprised if the merpeople were in danger right now,” Seungmin spoke up.

“You and Jeongin stay here where it’s safe. It would be best for me and Hyunjin to handle this,” Chan said to Seungmin.

Since the art witch and divination witch didn’t have the type of powers for this particular situation, they found that arrangement fair.

The sea witch and music witch quickly headed for the exit of the room.

“Jeez if they left a while ago, I hope we can still get there in time,” Chan said.

“Hey wait, where are you guys going?” San asked, running beside them with ease because of his vampire abilities.

The sea witch looked at him with anxious eyes. “The sea. The people there, they’re in danger.”

San’s eyes widened. “Oh then why didn’t you say so? You’re not alone you know. Me and everyone else will help you out!”

“You’d really do that for us?” Chan asked, finally stopping his running.

“Of course!” San smiled.

  
  


Changbin carried Felix while the kitchens witch held a bunch of needles in his hands, carefully facing away from either one of them so their skin wouldn’t come in contact with it.

“This building has so many rooms and floors, the hell,” Changbin panted.

“Sorry, am I heavy at all?” Felix asked softly.

“No you’re fine,” Changbin assured him. “If anything I could hold you in my arms for hours. It’s just finding that damn laboratory that’s tiring me.”

Felix just nodded, ignoring the flushing feeling in his face.

After a few more floors of searching, they finally got to a level with a small hallway that led to a huge door at the end. Changbin carefully opened the door and luckily it was unlocked. He quickly got in and turned on the lights, marveling at the huge white lab room they had just entered. That was until his eyes landed on two scared boys in the corner, chained up and the ends of the metal tied to the wall.

“Who are you guys?” Felix asked once his eyes landed on them.

“I think they’re the other diurnal and nocturnal witch. The ones being held by the humans,” Changbin said.

He sat Felix down on a chair and then went up to the boys trembling in fear. 

“Hey it’s okay. How do I get you guys out of those?” Changbin asked while looking at their chains.

Deongmyeong gulped and then glanced at his brother, then back at Changbin. “There’s a remote control she always puts in that drawer. The one closest to that fire blanket,” The red-head said.

Changbin went over and opened the white drawer, sure enough seeing one in there. He took it out and walked over to the two.

“Which buttons do I press?” Changbin asked.

“Press the green one, blue one, and then the one at the bottom that says ‘release’,” Deongmyeong explained.

The lunar witch did as he was instructed and then the metal around the twins freed around them, the metal encased on their hands and feet releasing too.

“Oh my gosh,” Dongju breathed, happy to finally be out of those terrible things.

“Thank you! Thank you so much! We can’t express how much we appreciate you saving us!” Deongmyeong said.

“But what about Viper? Is she going to come back here?” Donju asked while worriedly looking at the door.

“Nope! She’s dead!” Felix happily announced from his chair.

The twins both let out a sigh of relief and then hugged each other, finally being free like they’ve been wanting for such a long time.

“What about Bear and Jackal? Are they dead too?” Deongmyeong asked while pulling away from his brother. 

“Yup. You’re safe now,” Changbin said.

“We can’t thank you enough. Is there any way we can repay you?” Deongmyeong asked.

“Oh, you guys don’t have to worry about that-“

“Actually,” Felix said, interrupting Changbin. “We might need your help right now.”

“You do?” Dongju asked.

“We do?” Changbin added.

Felix looked at the twins and held out the needles with the poison inside of them. “You guys know what this is, right?”

“Yeah,” Deongmyeong said, barely above a whisper.

“Would you happen to know what that Viper woman put in them?” 

Deongmyeong looked at his brother and then nodded. “She always kept a journal of what she did inside her desk.”

Changbin went over to the corner of the room where a desk was positioned. After opening up a few cabinets, he finally found the journal.

“Jeez, what was her deal with the color green?” Changbin dryly chuckled, holding up the green covered book.

  
  


With the help of some of the faster creatures, Hyunjin and Chan were carried all the way to the beach in practically a few minutes. It was raining hard outside and thank god it was dark, all of the humans asleep during that time.

“Those are the trucks! Over there by the docks,” Yeosang pointed.

With the creatures of the dark forest closely following behind them, Chan and Hyunjin quickly ran down the wooden planks. The music witch clapped his hands and instantly threw back a group of soldiers into some boxes. Hyunjin felt his connection with the sea strengthen again since he was close to it. He closed his eyes while large amounts of mana formed on his hands. Waves of water out of the sea raised in the air and Chan watched the other in amazement. Hyunjin opened his eyes and with the swift flick of his hands, the waves came crashing down on all of the soldiers, them and their bullets all coming down. His head snapped to a few humans who were starting to load barrels of some toxic substance in the sea. He scowled at them and shot his hand out, a wave of water briskly following after it and shooting their way. The humans were immediately wiped out and Hyunjin swallowed their bodies and contaminated water with another wave and held up the water in the air, letting it float up while walking closer to it.

“Don’t ever mess with the sea,” He spat.

He moved his arm up and to the side, the water in the air flying and then landing violently on the pavement past the docks. The contaminated water splashed and covered it, some of it rushing right into the storm drains. The human bodies there, however, were crushed on the ground.

Chan and the rest of the other creatures fought off any more soldiers coming their way while Hyunjin took care of any humans who were trying to get close to the water, mercilessly engulfing them in water and slamming them down on the ground, killing them in an instant. Chan would be lying if he didn’t find Hyunjin scary at that moment. But the sea witch’s eyes no longer held their calm, peaceful gaze like they often did. Instead they were cold, almost like the sea was taking over his body and making him act so out of character. Even back under the warehouse, when Hyunjin was fighting he didn’t kill anyone, he just pushed them back with water injuring them. But not lifting them up in the air and killing them.

When Hyunjin no longer saw any humans, he walked towards the truck and checked if there was anyone left, ready to kill them in a heartbeat. When he didn’t see anyone, he glared at all of the trucks filled with toxic chemicals before walking back to the others. Chan was pretty much done, the last of the soldiers being killed off by the others. He spotted Hyunjin waking to him, his gaze still filled with bloodlust. 

“Hey hey, calm down Hyunjin. Calm down,” He said while coming up to the sea witch.

Hyunjin barely acknowledged the other as he kept staring at the remaining humans fighting the mythical creatures.

“Hyunjin, you’re okay you’re okay. They’ve got this, please calm down,” Chan said in a soft voice.

He’d never thought he’d be the one telling Hyunjin to calm down. For as long as he’s known the sea witch, Hyunjin has always been the calm one while Chan complained about his stress.

Hyunjin blinked his eyes and snapped out of a trance he didn’t even realize he was in. His eyes flashed to the dead humans laying on the ground, a gruesome sight for him. And then he looked at Chan, the older’s face holding concern for Hyunjin.

“I-I... I didn’t mean to. I-“ Hyunjin choked on a sob, tears forming in his eyes.

“It’s okay Hyunjin. You’re okay,” Chan assured him, putting his arms around the sea witch and rubbing his hand up and down his back.

“The sea... it wasn’t me Chan. I didn’t mean to kill them like that,” Hyunjin cried.

“I know, I know,” Chan whispered.

The taller of the two trembled and he dropped to his knees, the music witch dropping down with him and holding him in his arms.

“I’m scared Chan. My family and my home were in danger. I got so caught up in everything and being near the sea gave me so much strength.”

“On the bright side, it’s over now. You and everything you love are fine. Just breathe,” 

Chan instructed.

As the rain soaked both of them, they sat down on the ground trying to recover from what just happened. Hyunjin looked back at the sea like he’d done countless times. The waves were starting to calm down a bit and the rain wasn’t as heavy anymore. Hyunjin took a deep breath in and then out, resting his chin on Chan’s shoulder.

  
  


Some of the healing creatures of the forest stayed behind and helped out Jisung the best they could. They were able to remove the bullet out of Jisung’s chest and stop the bleeding, but his wound was so deep that it would take a little more time for some of the magic to take effect and heal on its own.  _ If  _ Jisung had more time.

“Minho, please don’t cry. Everything’s going to be okay,” Jisung said.

“How can you say that? I don’t know when the others are going to get back with the antidote. I don’t know how long you have left. If only I could have saved you. I’m so sorry,” Minho sniffled, holding one of Jisung’s cold hands in his.

“Promise me something Minho,” Jisung requested.

“What is it?”

“Let’s say hypothetically, highly unlikely, that I don’t make it. Can you try to live your life a little happier? Live a life without regrets? If there’s anything I want you to remember about me, it’s my positivity. Even if some days you’re feeling down and not so happy, make others happy. Put on your biggest smile, and show them that there’s good in this world.”

Hearing this only made Minho sob harder. He gripped Jisung's shirt and he cried, the nocturnal witch having cried for so long that he no longer had any tears left. His heart felt like a million knives were jabbing into it. He so badly wished it was him dying on the floor, and not Jisung. 

  
  


“The hell is thimerosal?! Why are these human ingredients so weird sounding?” Felix ranted.

Deongmyeong was sitting at the computer in that moment trying to look up all of the chemicals they were putting in to confirm they were the right ones while Dongju was finding and fetching ingredients for Felix and Changbin.

Changbin put that specific ingredient into the bowl like Felix instructed and mixed. “Even if we make this, how will we know if it works?”

“Well we’ve only got one person with the symptoms to test it on. We’ll just have to be careful and precise with this so it works. You’re good with that, right Changbin?”

The lunar witch playfully rolled his eyes. “I guess you could say being a perfectionist pays off for something.”

Felix giggled and then went back to reading off the last of the ingredients.

“Okay we’ve got all the normal things in. This stuff isn’t even charged, will this work?” Changbin asked.

“Since these aren’t natural ingredients I don’t think they need to be charged. Can I see the bowl for a second please?” Felix asked.

Changbin handed the bowl to Felix and the kitchen witch looked at the twins and their bandages on their arms. “Did Viper get any magic from you guys?”

Dongju nodded shyly, clinging onto his brother. “Yes but the way she did it was really painful,” Deongmyeong answered.

Felix gave them a sympathetic look. “Can you two please come closer? I promise, what I’m gonna do won’t hurt one bit.”

The two complied and stood next to him. Felix closed his eyes and focused in on their magical auras, his left hand lifting up in the air and some of the magic on the twins surfaces drifting off in golden yellow and black smoke. He took it and threw it into the bowl, the colors swirling around and turning the light green liquid into light pink. He finally ended it with dipping a few fingers into the liquid, feeling the magic inside of it cover his fingers. He opened his eyes again and shook the remaining contents off his fingers.

“I think this is it,” He said.

Changbin gawked at him. “How did... how did you just do that?”

Felix smiled. “I’m a kitchen witch. Making potions is one of my strongest abilities.”

“Okay well how do you know that it works?” Changbin questioned.

“Well I reversed it. You can tell by the light pink color of it. Whatever it was initially supposed to do, it’s now gonna do the opposite. Sometimes your intentions while making things can greatly affect the product.”

Changbin slightly laughed at this, realizing Felix was definitely better at potion making than he’ll ever be. “Well I’ll put it in a syringe and then we’ll go.”

  
  


Chan and Hyunjin headed back with the others to the warehouse. They all went back down to the lowest level, and the pit in Chan’s stomach grew when he still saw Jisung laying there, now even more pale this time.

“They don’t have the antidote yet?” The music witch asked.

“Not yet,” Jeongin said. “We’re hoping that they’ll come back soon. Seungmin and I were about to try and look for them in a few minutes.”

Just then behind them, a group of four people came out of the elevator. Changbin quickly walked over while holding Felix, the twins carefully following behind them.

“Sorry we’re late! It’s generally not a good idea to run while carrying a needle,” Felix said.

“You got the antidote?” Seungmin asked.

“Yup! Deongmyeong, can you please go up to the dude dying over there and inject him?” Felix asked.

He nodded, his brother closely sticking by him. Both of them were scared from all of the eyes looking at them. 

“What if it doesn’t work? What if they think we did something to the needle? Will they all kill us?” Dongju asked worriedly. 

“They’re the ones who saved us. I don’t think they’re gonna do that,” Deongmyeong said to him.

They approached Jisung and the witches standing around him made room. Deongmyeong gulped as he kneeled down and held the needle up to Jisung’s arm, injecting him with the antidote.

Jisung’s weak body immediately felt its strength gradually come back. His skin was starting to brighten up more, and he took deep breaths in, sitting up so he could look at everyone properly.

“Deongmyeong, is that you? Thank you,” He said to him.

“Oh, you’re welcome. It was your friends who made the antidote,” Deongmyeong said shyly.

He looked at the needle and then at Changbin and Felix.

“I knew you guys would figure it out!” He smiled.

Felix chuckled at this. “I bet you never doubted us for a second.”

“So let’s backtrack here,” Jisung cleared his throat. “We killed the evil bad guys, Chan and Hyunjin saved the sea and the merpeople living in it, I’m not dead... are we forgetting anything?”

Seungmin shook his head and helped Jisung up on his feet. “I think we might be in the clear after all that.”

Minho immediately made his way to Jisung, engulfing him in a hug and resting his head on the latter’s shoulder. “Don’t ever scare me like that again okay? I thought you were going to leave me forever.”

Jisung just laughed at this and patted his back. “From here on out you probably won’t be able to get rid of me. So look forward to that Minho.”

“So it‘s really all over?” Jeongin asked, finally feeling relief wash over him. 

Chan glanced around the room and then back at Jeongin. “Well the Claw Clan has been at it for years, but with their leaders killed I don’t think they’re going to be revived unless someone really believes in their cause.”

“And just in case,” Hyunjin added, “We could destroy this building. Since this seems to have been their base for centuries, we can make sure people never have a place like this again to plot evil stuff.”

“I agree with that idea,” Changbin said to him.

  
  


After taking down the base with the last of their powers, Hyunjin using his abilities to burst the pipes and flood the place while Chan used his sound waves to break the walls and the floor, everyone including the creatures of the night felt more at peace.

“So what’s next?” Chan asked while panting with his hands on his knees.

“That depends. Do you still want to come to the safe realm with us?” Jeongin asked.

“What safe realm?” Changbin asked.

“It’s where we live,” Felix answered. “The whole reason why we even came to this realm was to come get you guys.”

“Realm? I’m not quite following,” Minho piped up.

“We came through a weird portal, it’s a whole thing. But let’s not explain it now because I’m ready to sleep,” Jisung yawned.

“I’d still like to get my art bag back. Left that damn thing at the hospital,” Seungmin grumbled.

“Yeah it would be best if we headed there first,” Chan said, looking up at the sky when the rain had completely stopped.

“Then after that where are we going?” Changbin asked.

“The safe realm. I don’t wanna be in this place anymore,” Seungmin sighed.

“But,” Minho looked at all of the other creatures watching them, “I can’t just leave here. The dark forest is weaker than ever and I have to stay there.”

“Are you sure about that Minho?” Seonghwa piped up.

Minho turned his head to the vampire and furrowed his eyebrows. “Huh?”

The vampire pointed to the twins who were standing to the side during all this. Minho’s eyes widened, realizing his point. He walked up to the brown-haired one and then met his eyes.

“Hey can I ask you for um, a really big favor?” Minho started.

Donju looked at him cautiously but then nodded.

“There’s a forest out there that requires dark energy. It’s in pretty bad shape right now, but with your help I know it can recover. Would you be willing to do that?” Minho asked with a slight smile.

“Where is this place? Can my brother come with me?” Dongju asked.

“Of course you brother can come with,” Minho said. He looked into the crowd and then spotted a vampire and a werewolf he was familiar with. The two that had protected him with their lives that one night the Minho ran into the forest.

“Youngjo, Yonghoon, can you please protect these two and take them back to the forest?” Minho asked.

They came forward and both creatures smiled at the twins. 

“We’d be more than happy to,” Youngjo the vampire nodded.

“So none of you guys would be interested in coming to the safe realm with us? Even if the Claw Clan is gone, are you sure you feel safe living around humans?” Jeongin asked.

Yomghoon the werewolf gave the divination witch a small smile. “The forest is our home. It’s a nice offer but we’ll have to pass.”

The two twins left with the vampire and werewolf, quickly looking behind and waving at the witches. 

“Do you guys need any help getting to the hospital?” Mingi asked.

“Even if we did, the hospital is probably surrounded by humans who are awake,” Changbin sighed. “Me and the others will probably have to get there by foot or something. Even if the Claw Clan is gone, I think your guys’ super speed would freak out the humans.”

At this, Mingi nodded and went back to the rest of his vampire clan. The creatures from the forest talked a little bit amongst themselves before leaving and clearing out, all of them going back home.

“So we get our stuff and get back to the safe realm?” Seungmin asked Jeongin.

“Sounds like a plan.”


	26. Chapter 26

They all had to go deeper in the city and make their way towards the hospital after some guidance from a convenience store worker. Chan still saw his car parked in the lot so that was a good sign.

Chan, Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Jeongin all went inside and talked with the front desk lady.

“You can check the lost in found but I don’t remember you guys ever coming in here? Were you here to visit someone?” She asked.

“Um, do you have any records of admitting a patient named Lee Felix in here?” 

The lady went on her computer and searched around a bit before shaking her head. “Nope, that name is not in here.”

“That’s so weird,” Seungmin whispered.

“The Claw Clan must have covered their tracks well,” Jeongin frowned.

One of the hospital employees came out from behind the desk and walked them to the lost and found.

“You didn’t happen to look through any of the bags you found, did you?” Seungmin asked the employee, thinking about his wand.

“We skimmed through them to see if there were any hints of who it belonged to but we didn’t take anything out. But we did find your wallet with your I.D.,” The employee said looking at Chan. “And we also found it strange how you left your phone in there. Nowadays people never leave their phones in their bags.”

The music witch lightly laughed with the staff member as they approached the lost and found room. They all managed to find their belongings and thanked the hospital staff before wishing them a good night and getting out of there.

“Good news is we can take my car now,” Chan said while holding up his keys.

“Yes! No more walking!” Jisung cheered tiredly.

“I carried you the whole way here,” Minho said to him.

“Okay well take this as an opportunity to rest your legs then,” Jisung laughed.

They all got into the music witch’s SUV and then he started the car.

“You guys wouldn’t mind if I made a stop back home? There’s still some things I need to do,” Chan said.

“Of course, take your time,” Hyunjin whispered, his eyes starting to get tired like everyone else’s.

  
  


When his sister opened the door, she gawked when she saw her older brother standing there.

“Oh my god, you look terrible. More than usual,” She said while glaring at him.

“I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly,” He apologized.

“Oh I hope you’re sorry! Me and Lucas have been worried sick about you. I mean staying over at a friend’s house? You’re a zombie most of the time, when did you have the time to make friends?” She ranted.

Chan just lightly laughed at her words and headed for the couch, sighing when he landed on the soft furniture.

“Well?” His sister impatiently tapped her foot on the ground. “It’s four in the morning. Aren’t you going to go to bed?”

“Can you wake up Lucas for me and come back downstairs, I need to tell you guys something,” Chan said in a serious tone.

His sister decided not to press forward, knowing that whatever this was, the older needed to say something important.

When both his brother and his sister came down, Chan explained everything that happened the past week or so. From all of the witches he had met to them taking down the Claw Clan, and all the other crazy details.

“Woah hyung, you really did all that?” Lucas asked, amazed.

“No he didn’t. He’s probably lying. Christopher, just tell us the truth. Whatever it is we won’t be mad,” His sister said.

“Hannah, I  _ am  _ telling the truth,” Chan said while rubbing his temples. “I’m going to leave soon and I just wanted to tell you guys.”

“But you’re not really leaving to some magical ‘safe realm’ are you? Just tell us the actual truth. Are you in trouble with the law or something?” She asked.

“No I’m not,” Chan huffed. “You know what, if you don’t believe me I have seven witches in my car right now. And any single one of them can verify what I just told you.”

Hannah eyed him but then crossed her arms. “Fine.”

Sure enough when they all stepped outside to Chan’s parked car, Hannah’s jaw dropped when she saw six guys all sleeping inside the vehicle, except for one guy who seemed to be wide awake. He just awkwardly waved at them.

“Minho, did we or did we not just take down the Claw Clan for good? And after this we’re heading to the safe realm?” Chan whispered.

Minho glanced at Chan’s sibling looking at him with wide eyes and nodded. “Yup, the Claw Clan is pretty much gone. And it’s the plan to head to the safe realm.”

Chan smirked at his sister and poked her shoulder. “See? I told you I was telling the truth.” Chan then closed the car door so he wouldn’t wake up anyone sleeping in there.

“So it’s all true,” Hannah breathed. “Are you really going to leave us? When will you be back?”

“Yeah, I’m not ready to say goodbye forever,” Lucas said.

“It won’t be forever I assure you. If you want you could come with me. Live in the safe realm so we don’t have to be so far apart.”

Hannah lightly chuckled. “We’re not gonna do that. I’m still in college and this guy isn’t even done with High School yet. Just make sure to visit us, okay?”

“Of course I will,” Chan smiled.

All of the Bang children hugged and then went back into the house, helping Chan pack more stuff he would need.

“Vegemite? Seriously Lucas?” Chan asked.

“Hey they might not have it over there. They barely have it in Korea,” Lucas argued.

He wished his siblings goodbye one more time before telling them to go back to sleep. He entered his car and Jeongin immediately bolted awake, tiredly looking next to him.

“You’re done?” He yawned.

“Yup. Can you be my GPS now?” Chan chuckled.

“Of course I can.”

  
  


By the time Chan drove all the way to the woods where the cave would be, the sun was starting to rise. Chan tried to park his car in a more hidden spot. Everyone started to wake up again, even Jisung. This was perfect timing because it was dawn, meaning that Minho and Jisung would naturally be awake at the same time.

They all walked through the woods, Changbin carrying Felix in his arms.

“How are you holding up?” He asked the kitchen witch.

“Everything feels sore to be honest. I can’t wait until I get back to the safe realm and go to a healing center. I’ll feel better than ever in a few days after they fix me up.”

They all made it to the cave, Jeongin taking the lead. They pushed past the vines inside and took a look at the familiar pool of aquamarine water.

“Oh my gosh this whole thing has been exhausting,” Seungmin sighed. 

He walked up to the pool, turned his body while holding out his arms, and falling backwards into the water.

Hyunjin giggled and walked up to the pool, getting in after the art witch and being very surprised when he could actually breathe in the water. He hadn’t even used a water breathing spell or anything.

“We volunteer to go next!” Jisung chimed while grabbing Minho’s hand.

“We? What do you mean we?” Minho asked.

Jisung didn’t answer but instead pulled his forward. He got a running start and Minho had no choice but to follow him.

“It’s more fun if we cannonball!” He said with a playful grin.

“A what?!” The nocturnal yelled.

Jisung jumped in the air and Minho got pulled along with him. The two landed in the water, then they started to sink like the two witches before them did.

“Aw, I wish I could do that right now,” Felix pouted.

Changbin just tiredly shook his head, trying to blink away the sleepiness in his eyes. He carefully got into the water with Felix, never letting him go even when they started sinking.

“You ready to go home Jeongin?” Chan asked the younger.

The divination witch nodded. “I’m so glad I actually found you and Hyunjin and Minho and Changbin. The fact that we managed to save you guys still amazes me, even after all that,” Jeongin admitted.

The two got into the aquamarine water together, ready to enter the safe realm.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to make it clear that both Han Jisung (Stray Kids) and Park Jisung (NCT) are in this story. I know this may create some confusion, and I apologize. Usually if it’s Park Jisung, he will either be with Chenle or be referred to as a werewolf. Hopefully this will clear up some of the confusion.

The guards near the cave were definitely not thrilled when the witches got to the other side and walked near the exit. After interrogating them and one guard rushing Felix to a healing center, they brought them all to Park Jinyoung, the mayor of JYP town.

Whenever someone broke a law in the realm, it didn’t matter where they did it. If they lived in a town they had to go back to wherever they lived and see the mayor there.

“So you guys actually defeated the Claw Clan? The human organization that has been wiping out magical creatures for hundreds of years and is the very reason why we’re all living in the safe realm away from humans in the first place?” Park Jinyoung asked while rubbing his temples.

“Yup, we all did with help from other magical creatures in the danger realm. There’s still some left over there,” Jeongin explained.

“Well since you  _ did  _ break the law by going over there in the first place, let’s discuss your punishment,” Park Jinyoung said.

“Punishment?” Jeongin whispered to Seungmin and Jisung. The others just shrugged, not knowing what they did would be that bad.

Chan got out of his seat and stood right in front of Park Jinyoung’s desk, glaring at him without a hint of hesitation in his body.

“Listen here. I don’t know what’s going through your head right now but you punishing these brave witches for saving me and the others is just ridiculous! They saved our lives, and tons of other ones potentially in danger! And you have the audacity to punish them?!” Chan yelled.

Park Jinyoung stared at the music witch blankly and then back at the JYP residents. “Well um, I guess I can give them a lighter sentence.”

Chan crossed his arms and kept his eyes on the mayor, looking like an angry dad during a parent teacher meeting who felt like his kids did nothing wrong.

“Well, let’s hear it,” Chan prompted.

Park Jinyoung cleared his throat. “Seungmin, Jeongin, Jisung, and Felix won’t be able to go through the portal ever again unless they wish to have a stricter punishment. And since they brought you all from the danger realm, they’ll have to be the ones to look after you if you all decide to stay in this realm.”

“Now that’s acceptable. What do you guys think?” Chan asked Jeongin, Jisung, and Seungmin.

“I’m okay with that,” Seungmin shrugged.

Jisung’s body was trying to doze off since the safe realm’s time was behind the danger realm’s, the darkness outside the window making the diurnal witch want to sleep.

“Yeah that’s okay. Minho’s staying with me though,” Jisung sleepily chuckled.

“I wouldn’t mind it either. I have a few empty guest rooms in my house that I never use anyway,” Jeongin shrugged.

“Then it’s settled. You all can go home now. You must’ve had quite the journey,” Park Jinyoung said.

Seungmin sighed while getting up out of his chair. “You have no idea.”

  
  


While walking back to his house, Seungmin anxiously kept looking up at Hyunjin.

“Are you sure you want to go home with me? Jeongin probably has more room over at his place,” The art witch said.

“I’m fine Seungminnie. Jeongin already has Chan and Changbin staying over there. And besides, after all that happened I don’t think you should be all by yourself. It’s a lot to take in after all,” Hyunjin said, his eyes shimmering in the moonlight.

Seungmin simply nodded as they arrived at his house, walking in and taking off his shoes.

Hyunjin looked around and smiled. The place perfectly matched the younger’s personality. Framed photographs and paintings on the walls, a nice color scheme in the furniture with a variety of colors that somehow worked together, and a kitchen table covered in various art supplies.

“I only have one bed so-“ 

“Oh that’s good. After all of that I don’t even want to think about sleeping alone tonight,” Hyunjin sighed in relief.

Seungmin just blushed and quietly put his art bag by the door, mentally preparing for him and Hyunjin to settle down for the night.

  
  


After two days Felix was healthy and ready to leave the healing center. Changbin was the first to rush over there, having visited Felix the previous day.

“Isn’t he getting out today?” He anxiously asked one of the staff members who was flying past the waiting room.

“Yes. But he’s taking an awful long time picking out a lollipop flavor,” The fairy giggled.

“CHANGBIN!” A happy voice shouted from the hallway.

The lunar witch turned and smiled at Felix, the younger rushing to him and pulling him in for a tight hug. Changbin was surprised, but he decided to hug him back. They pulled away and Felix had a wide smile on his face.

“Check out what I got! A strawberry lollipop!” He closely leaned towards Changbin and the kitchen witch’s eyes shifted around the room. “I also sneaked another one for you too. If you’re not okay with blueberry, we can switch.”

Changbin couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips. “Blueberry sounds perfect. Let’s go.”

The lunar witch was amazed at how well they healed Felix. In pretty much no time, he was back to his normal self without even a single scar proving that he was injured. The whole time while walking through town, Felix held onto Changbin’s arm while excitedly pointing out some of his favorite places there. The lunar witch didn’t even pull away, enjoying how happy the other witch seemed.

“And at the end of the grand tour is the bakery owned by yours truly,” Felix beamed.

The kitchen witch excitedly opened the door but then immediately stopped at what he saw. Inside were seven werewolves all in the middle of a frosting fight, pink staining the walls, floors, and the boys stood there widely staring back at Felix.

“Um, we’re glad you’re back?” Jisung weakly chuckled.

Felix’s smile dropped as he took a look at his now messed up bakery.

“I leave here for a little under two weeks and this is what happens? Jisung, Chenle, why are the five of them over?” Felix questioned.

“Well they needed help because the work was too overwhelming, so we’ve been coming here for the past week,” Jeno said.

Felix sighed as he rubbed the sides of his head. “You guys aren’t supposed to do that oh my god. And what’s with the frosting?”

“Chenle started it,” Haechan said pointing at him.

“Me? No  _ you  _ did!” Chenle argued.

“No one likes a liar,” Haechan taunted.

“Mark, can you get your boyfriend to stop attacking me?” Chenle huffed.

“Oh like he can tell me what I can and can’t do,” Haechan snorted while glancing at Mark.

“You know you’re impossible sometimes, right?” Mark said while narrowing his eyes at Haechan.

“Okay okay, I can’t take this anymore!” Felix snapped. “You five, get out of my bakery before I get Taeyong to come collect you!” He then turned to his employees. “And you two, meeting in the back room, now!”

The five he addressed left, but not before Jeamin stole three cupcakes for him, Jeamin, and Renjun. They all walked past Changbin and exited the bakery.

“I’m sorry Changbin, can you please excuse me for a few minutes? I have go do boss stuff,” Felix sighed.

“No I don’t mind at all,” The lunar witch said, still in shock at how scary Felix sounded when he raised his voice just then.

Felix then headed to the back room, immediately slapping his hands to his face while he felt like dying inside. “Why the hell are there so many potion bottles back here?”

“There were so many people who complained about their potions ‘not being the way Felix made it’. We got so many sent back and we didn’t get the chance to dispose of them,” Chenle explained.

“Well why not?” Felix asked. “What could have possibly kept you from simply doing that?”

Jisung timidly looked at Chenle then to Felix. “We were honestly scared. Usually you handle that stuff and with all your strange recipes, we didn’t want to accidentally blow up the place or something.”

Felix rolled his eyes and picked up a random yellow potion, holding it in front them. “First you neutralize the potion, then you dilute it, and then you can pour it down the sink. Is that really so hard to do?”

“I told you the place wouldn’t explode if we tried that,” Jisung whispered to Chenle.

“Are you going to fire us?” Chenle asked Felix.

“I probably should,” Felix lightly scoffed.

The two werewolves looked at the ground in shame, mumbling apologies to him. The kitchen witch immediately felt guilty. Maybe he was being too harsh on them.

“I probably should,” Felix repeated, “But then who’s gonna clean up the mess?”

The two werewolves lit up at that and then smiled at one another.

“So we get to keep our jobs?” Jisung asked.

“Unfortunately yes,” Felix chuckled.

The kitchen witch put down the bottle in his hand and left the back room while the two werewolves occupied themselves with disposing all of the potions. When Felix got back to the front he got him and Changbin glasses of water, the freckled boy mumbling complaints and whines under his breath about his ruined bakery.

“I’m sorry about everything. Usually the place looks way better than this,” Felix said while setting down their waters and sitting across from Changbin.

“It’s okay. I just didn’t take you for such a perfectionist when it came to your bakery,” Changbin smirked.

Felix rolled his eyes again but he couldn’t help the small smile spreading across his face. He looked at the mess of frosting over by the counters and laughed a little.

“Yeah. I guess I can be a little bit of a perfectionist,” He said.

  
  


During the evening before the sun could fully set, Jisung had Minho sit by him while scrolling on his computer, looking at homes for sale.

“And why are we looking at houses again?” Minho asked.

“Because I live with my brother. I’ll feel bad if he’s just third wheeling all the time,” Jisung said while scrolling down the screen.

“But we’re not even together so he’s technically not third wheeling.”

“Okay then. Minho, will you be my boyfriend?” Jisung smiled.

“That’s like the tenth time you’ve asked me. I’ve already told you to really think it over first before deciding impulsively,” Minho sighed.

“But why would I do that when you’re the only person I want to be with?” Jisung pouted while clinging onto Minho’s side.

“How about this? Let’s go on a few dates first and then you ask me to be your boyfriend.”

“Yup! I like that idea!” Jisung grinned.

  
  


“You’ve seriously never interacted with a dog your whole life? Have you ever seen one?” Seungmin asked.

“Nope. But I’ve always wanted to. I’ve only ever seen them in human movies and dogs weren’t allowed at the beach where I was,” Hyunjin said.

They walked to the animal shelter and entered the building, the AC blasting too much for Seungmin’s liking. 

“Hello there!” The front desk guy greeted them. “What can I do for you guys? There was recently a dragon who’s eggs finally hatched. Are you here to see the little guys?”

Seungmin pointed to Hyunjin. “He actually came here to look at some dogs. Said he’s never seen any in real life before.”

“Huh, strange. Well follow me,” The guy said.

Seungmin and Hyunjin practically spent hours in the puppy play room. The sea witch was enamored with the dogs and Seungmin just sat down on the floor with one of the dogs resting on his lap.

“I can’t believe I’ve lived my whole life without ever meeting these animals before. They’re so cute,” Hyunjin cooed while throwing a ball and making a bunch of puppies run after it.

“They’re pretty nice,” Seungmin agreed.

“The puppies kind of remind me of you,” The sea witch grinned.

“How?” Seungmin asked while tilting his head a little.

“Because they’re cute and adorable and I want to shower them with love and affection. Plus they kind of tilt their head when they’re curious like you do.”

Seungmin gently grabbed the puppy from his lap and placed them off to the side. He then excused himself to go to the bathroom. He didn’t actually have to go, he was just going to spend the next few minutes trying to calm himself down from the meltdown he was having on the inside.


	28. Chapter 28

It wasn’t long before Changbin moved in with Felix, the whole thing being the younger’s idea. The lunar witch didn’t mind, but he found it strange that although Felix had two bedrooms in his house, Changbin woke up with him sleeping next to him. He guessed that in the middle of the night he must have gone into Changbin’s room and slept beside him.

“Felix. Felix wake up,” Changbin whispered.

The said boy shifted in his sleep, his back facing the other while grabbing the whole blanket, wrapping it around himself.

“Don’t you have work today?” Changbin asked.

This made the kitchen witch immediately wake up and look at the clock.

“Oh my gosh I haven’t even made you breakfast yet,” He rambled before dashing out of the room.

The lunar witch just stared at him while he left, wondering how on earth a person like Felix existed.

When Felix was done cooking, Changbin couldn’t help but facepalm.

“You already cooked so much for dinner last night, why cook such a heavy breakfast?” He asked.

“Because no soulmate of mine is going to go hungry,” Felix smiled.

“Soulmate? Since when am I your soulmate?” Changbin sighed while sitting down at the table, staring at his plate of waffles, eggs, and bacon.

“It’s a long story. Now food first, questions later. You’re going to come along with me to the bakery later,” Felix said.

Changbin didn’t even have the energy to argue, just eating breakfast while sitting across from the kitchen witch.

When they were done and Felix cleaned up, the younger went into the closet and pulled a broom out. Changbin curiously followed him out the door as he brought the broom with him.

“Alright, you ready?” Felix asked him.

The older furrowed his brows. “What do you mean? Aren’t we walking there?”

Felix just laughed at him. “You really think I walk to work everyday?”

The kitchen witch then positioned the broom so he was holding it with two hands. The wooden part of it started to glow a light orange color and then he released it, the object floating in the air. He swung one foot over it and sat on the broomstick.

“Well? Get on, we don’t have all day,” Felix said.

Changbin looked at the floating broom and then narrowed his eyes at the younger. “You’re really expecting me to get on that?”

“I can assure you it’s mostly safe. I’ve only fallen off of it a couple of times.”

Felix pouted and gave the lunar witch puppy eyes. Changbin glared at him before reluctantly getting on behind Felix, knowing there was no way he could say no to that face.

Once the other was finally on, Felix took off, the wind immediately pushing his hair back and the morning breeze hitting his face. It’s been such a long time since he’s been able to fly up into the air, the excitement and exhilaration running through his body. They flew over houses, buildings, and Changbin got to experience a bird’s eye view of the town for the first time. But at the same time, the lunar witch was terrified, afraid or leaning off the broom too much just enough to fall off.

“FELIX! CAN YOU SLOW DOWN?” Changbin yelped while holding onto Felix’s waist for balance.

“Nope!” The younger giggled, heading in the direction of the bakery.

As soon as they arrived, they stopped in front of the door and Felix looked behind him.

“Were you really that scared?” Felix asked, surprised.

“Well I wouldn’t have been screaming back there if I wasn’t scared now would I?” Changbin huffed.

Felix just gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry. But we made it here safely so don’t worry so much, okay? Now can you please um, let go of me?”

Changbin hadn’t realized that he was still holding onto his waist, so he retracted his arms and looked away, trying to ignore the blush he felt on his cheeks. Felix got off the broom and helped the lunar witch get off the broom, also slightly shy from the familiar flushing feeling in his face. 

  
  


“Seungminnie, can you please tell me where we’re going? The suspense is killing me,” Hyunjin giggled.

The art witch shrugged. “I just told you, you’ll see when we get there.”

When they finally got closer to the building, Seungmin instructed him to close his eyes. He obliged, holding Seungmin’s hand so he could guide him. He could tell that they stepped through some doors and the crisp smell of paper with a mix lavender hit his nose.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” Seungmin said, letting go of his hand.

Hyunjin did just that and his lips parted in surprise at the huge library that they were in. There were tons of books there, and there were signs above every section stating different categories relating to magic.

“These books... they’re all magic?” Hyunjin finally said after getting over his shock.

“Every single one of them. You can check out as many books as you’d like,” Seungmin said shyly while reaching in his bag and pulling up his library card.

One by one, Hyunjin would look through each shelf and gawk at the variety of magic books, spell books, and everything else in between they had there. Hyunjin could barely decide what he wanted to read first, often getting Seungmin’s opinion before he picked anything. After Hyunjin carried a huge stack of probably fifteen books, Seungmin went upstairs in the library and picked something for himself. It wasn’t magic, it was just some realistic fiction book he’s been meaning to get to. The two picked a quiet corner to sit in and Hyunjin excitedly picked up a water magic book, having a huge smile on his face that couldn’t go away even if he tried.

“Seungminnie?” Hyunjin beckoned.

The said witch finished the paragraph he was in and then looked at the other.

“I can’t express how much I appreciate you bringing me here. Today has definitely been one of my favorite days and it’s all thanks to you.”

Seungmin looked down at his own lap, feeling shy under the other’s gaze. “It’s no big deal, really. I just promised to myself that I would take you to a bigger library once we got to the safe realm.”

“But it is a big deal. You’re so thoughtful, and you doing this just shows how detail-oriented you are. You pick up on the little things in life, the small bits of joy that people appreciate. Don’t try to downplay it as something that’s not worth mentioning.”

The other was silent at this, and Hyunjin reached across the table to move a strand of hair out of his face, wanting to see the other more clearly.

“Seungminnie, I don’t know if you remember but I think you said something before about me and you having a future together? That Jeongin while reading your future implied us being together? Do you feel that way about me?” Hyunjin suddenly asked, now using a more serious tone.

The art witch swallowed the lump in his throat and looked at Hyunjin’s sparkling brown eyes. “Even if Jeongin was right... I don’t deserve you.”

Hyunjin’s expression softened, his eyebrows furrowed together. “What?”

“I don’t deserve you,” He quietly repeated. “I knew even before I met you that you were in my future. And the more I got to know you, I thought that there was no way you’d ever be interested in someone like me. It’s confusing honestly, how a person like you came into my life. You’re such a calm, collective, and powerful witch and I could never match up with that. Even if I want to be with you, I’m not sure you’d ever want to stay with me.”

Hyunjin hurried over to the art witch and sat next to him on his side of the table.

“Hey, hey look at me,” Hyunjin whispered while cupping Seungmin’s face and wiping away his tears.

“I’m so sorry,” Seungmin choked. “I took you here to have fun, I didn’t mean to bring down the mood.”

“You didn’t do that Seungminnie, everything’s fine I promise,” The sea witch assured him.

The art witch slowly pulled the other’s hands off his face, putting his face in his own hands and facing ninety-degrees away from him. 

“I’m sorry,” Seungmin said in a shaky breath.

“No no, don’t be. Seungminnie, don’t cry.”

Hyunjin removed Seungmin’s hands covering his face and without hesitation reached a hand up to Seungmin’s cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb.

“I like you a lot okay? And I want to stay with you. No matter what, I’ll always be by your side,” Hyunjin whispered, bringing his other hand up to Seungmin’s face and drawing closer to him.

The sea witch gently placed a kiss on Seungmin’s forehead, then he looked into Seungmin’s teary eyes.

“Okay,” The art witch said, barely above a whisper.

Seungmin would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a little sad when Hyunjin pulled away from him, the other now just sitting while looking at Seungmin. The art witch wanted to look back at him so badly, but he felt too vulnerable in that moment and his body refused to make eye contact.

“You know, I’m not all collective and powerful like you say I am. Everyone has their low moments in life. And really, the main reason why I was so powerful was this,” He said while holding up the amulet around his neck.

“What did it do?” Seungmin asked, staring at the design he had painted on it all those days ago.

“It saved us, all of us. While fighting off those soldiers, I couldn’t help but overhear you talking with Jeongin. You are not useless at all Seungminnie. Because of your sigil, I was able get out of my room even when my hands were restricted. I was able to manipulate water like I never could before. I was able to escape and break out the others all because of your sigil. You saved me. You saved all of us.”

Seungmin tensed and his eyes flickered up to Hyunjin’s before looking to the side again. “I didn’t even know it would work so well.”

“Well it did,” Hyunjin said with a slight smile. “Be proud of yourself. If there’s anyone I should be thankful for in saving my life, it’s you.”

Seungmin couldn’t help but mirror the other’s smile and brush some of his own light brown hair out of his face. “I guess if you really feel that way, then you’re welcome.”

  
  


After leaving the library Hyunjin and Seungmin dropped their stuff off at home and decided to go to Felix’s bakery. The sunset was approaching but they didn’t really mind, willing to spoil their appetites for a cookie or two.

“Hey Lix!” Seungmin greeted him when he saw the kitchen witch behind the counter.

“Oh you guys are finally here! Wait a minute, everyone’s here! Oh my gosh nobody move I need to go to the back room,” Felix scrambled while opening and running through an employees only door.

The art witch and sea witch just looked at each other but shrugged it off. Hyunjin hasn’t known Felix for too long, but he could tell that the younger could be hyper and random sometimes.

They spotted Minho, Jisung, Jeongin, Chan, and Changbin all sitting at the largest table there so they took a seat next to them.

“Oh you guys are finally here, where have you been?” Jeongin asked.

“Library,” The both answered at the same time, surprised how they said it in unison.

“Woah, you guys are like a match made in heaven!” Jisung exclaimed but then quickly turned to Minho. “I mean we’re just as cute as them too, I’m sorry if I made it seem like I didn’t value our relationship-“

Minho sighed and just ruffled Jisung’s hair while interrupting him. “Yes because my feelings are soooo hurt right now,” He said sarcastically.

Felix bursted through the employees only door with a vanilla buttercream frosted cake and set it down on the table where all the witches were sitting.

“Okay Felix this cake better be for an occasion because if not I swear to god,” Changbin said.

“I just wanted to celebrate all of us being here together,” He said while taking a knife and cutting the cake into slices, “I think this’ll be a really great time for us to get to know each other better.”

Felix let out a suspicious chuckle and he looked over at Jisung, winking at him. Changbin looked at both of them, and then the eight slices of cake on the table.

“Not today Satan!” Changbin shouted before getting up out of his seat and promptly going for the door.

“Changbin, come back! This is gonna be fun with more people~” Felix whined.

“Looks like someone still has PTSD from last time,” Minho snickered to Jisung.

“Okay I’m lost here, what are you kids up to?” Chan said while squinting his eyes at all of them.

“Basically one of these cake slices has a truth serum in it and this was supposed to be a game where we expose each other,” Jisung explained.

Felix lightly swatted at the diurnal witch’s shoulder. “You just ruined the surprise man. It’s probably some of their first times playing.”

“This game is evil! Don’t play it!” Changbin finally warned before running out the door.

“Changbin! Get back here!” Felix shouted while heading towards the door.

“Wait Felix, you’re seriously going to run after Changbin with a knife in your hand?” Chan asked, concerned.

The kitchen witch took a moment to look at Chan, then at the knife he was holding, and then back at the door. “Yup.”

Felix pushed past the exit and ran outside, trying to see which direction the lunar witch went in.

  
  


Thanks to Felix supplying Jisung with endless bottles of energy potions for free, Jisung and Minho were now trying a sleep schedule where they would be able to stay awake together for a full 24 hours. Jisung would take an energy potion before the sun set, then they would then spend the night sharing a blanket and watching movies together in Jisung’s room, and then Minho would take an energy potion during the day and they would go out and about seeing their friends and visiting some of Jisung’s favorite places like the enchanted gardens and music stores, then Jisung would fall asleep at night and Minho would sleep as soon as the day came. They would share that cycle so they could always spend a good chunk of time with each other. Jisung would always walk into his room while Minho was sleeping and just spend the time admiring his soft features in the sunlight. From his long lashes that rested on his checks to his soft, slightly parted lips. But Minho was just as guilty of this too, never openly admitting that he would stare at Jisung during the night while laying by his side sharing a blanket with him. Even though the nocturnal witch was wide awake, he now preferred to stay in during the night next to Jisung’s warm body.

One day they were walking through the enchanted gardens again that Jisung loved so much. The diurnal witch would often walk through them while holding his hand in Minho’s, explaining the wide variety of plants, trees, flowers, and bushes that the garden owned. The younger would even sometimes stop if he saw any shorter plants who’s taller neighboring plants blocked off the sun for them. With his magic, Jisung would hover his fingers over those shorter ones and make them grow just a little stronger. Or if there was a flower he didn’t get the chance to see bloom, he would cover it in a ray of sunshine just to see them open up.

“Jisung?” Minho beckoned.

The diurnal witch was in the middle of checking a flower bed but then he turned to the other. “Yeah?”

“I um, did you really think everything over? Of wanting to be my boyfriend, that is?” Minho coughed.

Jisung flashed a smirk while turning his body to him. “Why yes, I did think it over!”

“And what were you thinking?” Minho challenged, leaning in closer to Jisung’s face.

The diurnal witch widened his eyes in their proximity and leaned back a little, giggling at Minho. “I think that it would honestly be the best decision I’ve even made.”

“Well?” Minho prompted, his arms snaking around Jisung’s waist and bringing him in closer.

Jisung blushed at the sudden affection and looked up into Minho’s dark brown eyes. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

“Of course I will,” Minho smiled.

Jisung wrapped his arms around Minho and they both embraced each other, the diurnal witch burying his face in the crook of Minho's neck. This hug was definitely much different from the first time they had done it. Minho felt relaxed with his body pressed up against Jisung, content even. Jisung smiled like he always did when he was with the boy he loved so much, breathing in Minho’s scent. They eventually pulled away but they just reconnected their hands, intertwining their fingers. For a certain period in Minho’s life, he was afraid to touch anyone else but his housemate. He was especially afraid of touching other witches and hurting him just like he’d hurt his Dad all those years ago. But now, Minho relished in the feeling of being together with Jisung, never wanting to let go of the younger.


	29. Chapter 29

_ 3 Months Later... _

  
  


All eight witches were really starting to settle down in the safe realm, finally feeling at peace. While Park Jinyoung still did not allow anyone including Felix, Jisung, Seungmin, and Jeongin through the portal, he seemed to have made an exception for the four witches who previously lived in the danger realm. The only rule for those four was that they had to report where they were going, what they were doing, and how long they were going to be away. 

Chan went through the portal fairly often to visit his younger siblings, checking up on them since there was no way of connecting with them when he was in the other realm. After all, his phone didn’t even work in the safe realm, so he had to buy an additional one encased with a lot of magical features for when he was in the safe realm. According to Hannah and Lucas, with Claw Clan gone they felt more safe. While they still refused to use their powers, wanting to blend in with human society, they were still proud to be witches and Chan would constantly tell them there was no shame in being one.

Human suspicion of magical creatures dropped significantly. While only a few were even aware of what the Claw Clan were, with them gone and the news broadcasted all over the world, there weren’t many people left that believed there were any supernatural creatures that were a threat to society. 

Chan would often drive Minho, Changbin, or Hyunjin to their desired locations when they wanted to visit the danger realm. For the dark forest, it was very uninviting for humans and if any entered, they would surely be scared away by the creatures that protect it so fiercely. If they weren’t on high alert then, after the forest fire they were certainly alert now. While Changbin’s home was destroyed beyond repair, in the rubble he was able to salvage a few items belonging to his family like old photographs, books, and gemstones. 

Minho would go to the dark forest too, impressed by how well the land recovered. He would often talk to Dongju, the boy now looking more confident and seeming stronger than when he was held captive all those months ago. He was sweet, kind, and kept the dark forest strong with his energy like Minho used to do. When Minho went to the creek, he finally got reunited with his cat spirits. According to the locals, the animal spirits were gone for a long time, not visiting until recently when the land was all healthy again. It almost seemed like Soonie, Doongie, and Dori could sense that Minho wasn’t living there anymore, always following Minho all the way to Chan’s car whenever he left. The nocturnal witch one day asked Park Jinyoung if he could bring over the cat spirits to where he lived now. It took a lot of convincing and Chan yelling and defending Minho’s case before the idea was green-lit. So he brought over the spirits the next time he visited, the three being extremely curious of the new realm they would be living in. Jisung of course has no objection to Minho bringing them over, loving how much joy they brought the nocturnal witch. 

Hyunjin would go back to the sea to visit his hyungs every now and then. They always welcomed him with open arms every time he went over there, but he still never told them about that time he saved the merpeople and other aquatic creatures from the humans. He didn’t ever want to remember that time. But it’s not like Hyunjin would even get a chance to explain it if he could, the mermen always asking about updates about him and his boyfriend. He was surprised at how many bets they would make over the couple, like who would kiss who first and who’s the most possessive and so on. Hyunjin loves them, but he still couldn’t get over how bizarre they acted sometimes.

Back on the other side of the portal, many things were also happening over there. Felix asked Changbin not only to be his boyfriend, but also his business partner and co-own the bakery together. Fortunately for the kitchen witch, Changbin said yes to both. Felix also noticed how much Changbin still liked to study magic, or just anything in general surrounding it. So he suggested that he enroll in one of best magic learning academies close to where they lived. After hearing this idea, Seungmin also suggested for Hyunjin to do the same. With help from mainly Seungmin and Jeongin, both the sea witch and lunar witch passed the entrance exams with flying colors.

Chan, still more passionate than ever about music, continued to work on his projects. Many creatures of the realm liked his music, and that only pushed him harder to work on his projects. Jeongin was able to turn his indoor patio into a recording studio for him, giving the older a better space to produce and put his equipment in. And when Chan wasn’t working late in his studio, he would try to relax in his room and fall asleep, Jeongin going in there to talk with him if he still was awake by then, refusing to leave until Chan got the sleep he needed. Whenever the rest of the witches would meet up at Jeongin’s house—the divination witch having the most space out of all of them— Jisung would always be fascinated with Chan’s workspace, the diurnal witch also being a huge fan of Chan’s music. This combined with Changbin admitting that he used to write a lot of poetry gave the music witch an idea. As soon as Jisung and Changbin were on board with it, they created a rap group called 3Racha, the three managing to crank out quite a few songs that were taken really well by the public.

With assurance from all of Jeongin’s old and new friends, he got back into his fortune telling service, his interpretations always being accurate. At first he was doubtful of himself, but after long talks with Seungmin, he was able to push down his fears and get his confidence back. All eight witches would usually either meet up at Felix and Changbin’s bakery or Jeongin’s house, sticking together almost like a family because of their past trauma. They didn’t mention too much about those few days, but they were always there to support each other and comfort one another.

Regarding the magic learning academy that Hyunjin and Changbin attended, that was actually the same one where Renjun and Seungmin were painting the halls for. For Hyunjin, it was fun getting to see his boyfriend at school and watch the walls gradually get painted with different colorful swirls, symbols, and designs.

To the sea witch, he always stayed by the waters he grew up in because it was safe and familiar to him. But getting to be in an entirely different realm made him realize that safety isn’t just about where you are. He felt safe whether he was in the actual safe realm or not, because the feeling wasn’t just about location. He felt secure, and he felt the most calm when he was with the other witches. First it was when he met Chan, his first ever friend. Then it was when he met Seungmin, the love of his life. And now it was when he was with his friends. He never got to experience the feeling of such unity with people that understood him so well. He had seen it before with his hyungs, and now he had a group of his own to connect with. It didn’t matter where they lived or what happened to them. As long as they stuck together, he felt safe.


	30. Chapter 30

“Where’s Hyunjin?” Jisung asked.

Seungmin checked his phone quickly and then shrugged when he didn’t see any new notifications. “He said he was going to the library to do something boring.”

“Without you? That doesn’t seem right,” Felix snorted.

“I know. I said I could still come along with him but he insisted I didn’t,” Seungmin said.

“And where‘s Chan and Jeongin? Aren’t they usually here by now?” Changbin commented.

The witches looked around at each other but it seemed like nobody knew. Felix took a moment to get out of his seat when he saw a customer, Changbin shortly following after him to check on something in the back room.

“Maybe he’s meeting up for a study group?” Minho suggested.

The art witch shook his head. “He usually tells me about all of the projects and tests at school. I don’t think that’s it.”

“Well then I guess you could ask him later. Maybe he’s going to surprise you with something,” Jisung said.

Seungmin chuckled while taking his fork and cutting a little bit of his cheesecake. “I hope it’s a good surprise.”

“Worst case scenario-“ Jisung didn’t even let Minho finish before kicking one of the legs of the other’s chair. 

“Every time you start a sentence with that you’re gonna make me cry. Whatever happened to being positive and happy?” Jisung pouted.

The nocturnal witch rolled his eyes but leaned in to peck the other’s soft lips. “I’m sorry, I’ll try to be more optimistic.”

Felix finally finished helping out the customer at the front and saw as Changbin came from the back room. The nocturnal witch didn’t hesitate to walk over to Felix and place a kiss on his cheek.

“What was that for?” Felix giggled while putting up a hand up to his face.

“Just an experiment,” Changbin smirked.

“C’mon, you can do better than that,” Felix said.

The lunar wrapped an arm around Felix’s waist and leaned in closer. “Well where else would you want me to kiss you-“

“My poor eyes, Jisung, don’t look at them,” Chenle said to his co-worker while dramatically slapping a hand over his eyes. The other werewolf pretended to fake gag while looking at the couple.

“Aren’t you two supposed to be working?” Felix laughed while turning to them.

“Whatever. I’m gonna sweep while I try to get the image out of my brain,” Chenle mumbled while grabbing the nearest broom.

Felix’s eyes widened. “Wait Chenle, don’t put both of your hands on-“

It was too late. The werewolf already went to start cleaning but then the broom started to glow. The object levitated off the ground but Chenle wasn’t able to process what was happening in time. The broom bolted forward taking Chenle with it, the boy screaming and fearing for his life. He flew in the air around the bakery, having no control of it whatsoever and being too afraid to let go and fall off. The broom jerked and flew straight towards a window, breaking the glass and carrying him outside up into the air.

All of the witches, customers, and the remaining werewolf just stared and in shock at the broken window and some of their gazes went onto Felix.

“Uh, Jisung,” Felix said while looking at the werewolf, “We should probably go get him.”

“Yeah! We should!” Jisung yelled in a stressed tone.

The werewolf and his boss ran out the bakery while Changbin stayed there and assured everyone sitting down that things were just fine and under control.

  
  


Hyunjin was at a jewelry store with Chan and Jeongin stressing about finding a ring. He was usually a pretty calm person, but he didn’t want to choose the wrong one. Seungmin had such an eye for aesthetically pleasing things and if the art witch was going to wear something for the rest of his life, Hyunjin wanted to make sure that it was perfect.

“I don’t see why you need an engagement ring at all to propose to Seungmin. Witches don’t usually do that,” Jeongin commented.

“Well I know proposing with a ring is a human custom, but merpeople being half human adopted the tradition too. I always thought it was cute when I saw couples do it,” Hyunjin explained while looking through the glass at some jewelry.

“I think it’ll be romantic. I’m sure whatever ring you pick, Seungmin will love it,” Chan assured him.

Hyunjin whined when he got done skimming through the selection of diamond rings. “I don’t want to get him a boring one. Or one with a gem of just one color. I don’t want to choose the wrong one.”

“Would you be interested in a gem with multiple colors?” A voice said.

They turned to see one of the workers standing there politely to help them out. Jeongin didn’t quite recognize her, but he could tell she was a crystal witch.

“You have that?” Hyunjin asked.

“Of course we do. Follow me over here.”

They went over to one of the corners in the store and the employee went behind a counter and opened a drawer, taking out a box and opening it up. Inside were a few necklaces and bracelets, but what really caught Hyunjin’s eye was one of the rings inside.

“All of these are made with rainbow quartz. Would any of these happen to work?” She asked.

With his mouth still agape, Hyunjin picked up the ring with an intricate silver band and round rainbow quartz in the middle.

“I think that’s it,” Jeongin breathed while staring at the ring.

“Me too,” Chan agreed.

  
  


The next morning Seungmin was slumped over his kitchen table trying to battle through his frustrations.

“Stupid inspiration sigil. You don’t even work. Stupid art blocks,” He mumbled while glaring at the pink patch on his bag.

Hyunjin walked out of their bedroom and made his way over to the art witch, seeing how tense the younger was. He put his hands on both of Seungmin’s shoulders, rubbing and kneading some of the areas on his back.

“Are you okay?” The sea witch finally asked.

“Well I am since you’re here. How are you so good at this?” He asked, his muscles instantly feeling much more relaxed.

“Jaebum and Jinyoung hyung had a lot of stress related back problems when I lived with them,” Hyunjin explained.

Seungmin hummed and closed his sketchbook. “What were you doing at the library yesterday?”

“Nothing really. Just needed to find something...”

“Well that’s not suspicious at all.”

Hyunjin laughed a little and then leaned down to kiss Seungmin’s temple. “When are you getting home tonight?”

“I should be back at 9:00. It’s late, I know,” The art witch sighed.

Hyunjin just patted him on the shoulder and then looked at the clock. “Take all the time you need Seungminnie.”

  
  


When Seungmin got back from a meeting, he was just about ready to eat and then go cuddle his boyfriend before falling asleep. But instead all of the lights were off and there was no sign of Hyunjin anywhere. The art witch walked into the kitchen and on the fridge there was a note.

_Meet me in the backyard_

That was all it said. Seungmin furrowed his brows at this but did so anyways. When he went through the back door his breath immediately got caught in his throat.

In their small backyard, fairy lights were hung up with multiple candles and set on the sides burning in the night. There on the side was his older brother’s band, Day6 with all of their instruments. Well, Sungjin was the leader of the band but Seungmin’s brother, Wonpil was the keyboardist. And in the middle of all of this was Hyunjin standing there with a wide grin on his face. A warm light casted over the sea witch’s silver colored kimono robe with his usual pearl accessories and aquamarine amulet.

“What’s going on?” Seungmin finally breathed out while stepping closer to Hyunjin.

Day6 counted off and started to play a song. Seungmin immediately recognized it as their song “When You Love Someone”. The art witch’s favorite song by the band was of course “Shoot Me”, but he could see how that wouldn’t be a fitting song at that moment. 

Hyunjin stepped in front of Seungmin and held out his right hand. The younger took it and the two instantly intertwined their fingers. The sea witch gently placed his free hand on the other’s waist and Seungmin put his other hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder. Naturally influenced by the beat, they started to slow dance, smoothly moving to the music. Hyunjin’s eyes would often meet with Seungmin’s, the sea witch’s eyes holding so much love and adoration for the other. They felt as if they were in their own world, their bodies so close together and their faces merely inches apart. Seungmin was breathless, taking in the beauty of the gorgeous boy in front of him while they danced under the lights. 

When the song finally ended it took a while for Hyunjin to remember what he had planned next, too focused from the trance that Seungmin had put him under. He let go of him and relaxed as he prepared for what he was going to say.

“Kim Seungmin, you are the most extraordinary, intelligent, amazing person I have ever met in my entire life. You care for me like no one ever has before. You’re such a hard worker, and yet you still find time to spend your days with me. I will always treasure our moments together and I can’t wait to make more precious memories with you.”

Seungmin’s heart beat out of his chest while listening to the other’s words. His hands came up to his mouth while tears threatened to form in his eyes.

Hyunjin reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled up a black box. He got down on one knee and carefully opened it, revealing the ring with the multi-colored gem on top.

“Seungmin, will you marry me?”

Behind his hands Seungmin’s mouth hung open as he looked at him with wide eyes. He stood there frozen for what seemed like an eternity, not quite sure if the whole thing was a dream or not.

“I... I don’t know what to say,” Seungmin said barely above a whisper.

“Just say yes already! We spent two hours practicing that song!” Jae yelled from the side.

“Only because you kept forgetting the lyrics,” Wonpil commented.

Jae snapped his head in his bandmate’s direction and glared at him. “YOU FORGOT THEM TOO!”

Young K sighed. “Guys, be quiet. Can’t you see that they’re having a moment here?”

“SHUT UP BRIAN,” Jae and Wonpil shouted at him.

“Young K! It’s Young K! What’s so hard about remembering that?” He asked while gripping his hands in his hair in frustration.

Sungjin facepalmed, contemplating why he let them act like this. At least he had one other person in the band that he could always rely on. He turned to Dowoon, feeling really thankful in that moment that he at least had him.

When Dowoon met Sungjin’s eyes, the drummer flashed a shy smile and held his drum sticks up to the snare, tapping them on the head and playing a drum roll.

‘No, not you too,’ Sungjin mouthed.

The art witch stared back at Hyunjin who was patiently waiting for the other to answer. 

“Of course I would,” Seungmin replied.

Cheers could be heard beside them as Hyunjin took the ring and put it on Seungmin’s finger. Hyunjin stood back up again and engulfed him with a hug, briefly pulling away to capture the other’s lips in a kiss. Seungmin closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss, ignoring the tears that finally fell down his cheeks.

  
  


“What?! He got Day6 to play for you at the proposal?” Jisung gasped.

“Yup,” Seungmin nodded.

They were all currently at Jeongin’s house. The original plan was to watch a movie but when they found out Seungmin and Hyunjin were engaged, all of their plans were thrown out the window.

“Binnie, if you don’t get Twice to perform for me when you propose then I don’t wanna marry you,” Felix said.

Changbin narrowed his eyes at him. “Excuse me? And who the hell is Twice?”

Felix scoffed at him in betrayal and turned his gaze to the kitchen. “That’s it, I’m done. Jeongin, I’m gonna go borrow one of your knives.”

The divination witch panicked and ran over to Felix, making him sit and calm him down while he explained to Changbin why Twice was such a big deal for the kitchen witch.

“It’s such a creative way to ask though,” Jisung said.

“Actually it’s really not,” Hyunjin said. “Humans do it that way all the time. So do merpeople.”

“Huh, I never knew that,” Minho added. Jisung nodded in agreement.

“I forgot but isn’t there also another way that witches seal their fates before they get married?” Chan asked.

“You’re right. Are you and Hyunjin going to do that?” Jeongin asked Seungmin.

The art witch glanced at his fiancé and then shrugged. “I don’t know. Would you be up for it?”

“Sure,” Hyunjin said.

  
  


They waited until a night that held a full moon before going. Seungmin made a stop by a stand that sold gems and picked up two moon crystals. They walked up to a hill and sat at the very top, waiting for the clock to strike midnight. They could hear howls in the distance, probably from all of the werewolves morphing into their animal forms that night.

“What is this tradition for again?” Hyunjin asked.

“Basically this is for reading the bond that our souls have. The moon crystals I picked up are enchanted, and they’ll tell us whether our hopes and dreams line up enough for us to have a loving future together. When it gets to midnight we hold them up to the sky. If both of our crystals glow, it means that we’re ready to spend the rest of our lives together. If one of ours glows but not the other, that means that whoever’s crystal isn’t glowing will eventually betray the other. If both of our crystals don’t glow, then I guess it just isn’t meant to be.”

Hyunjin stared at him with a terrified look on his face which made him laugh. “Aw, don’t worry so much about this. It’s just a tradition, don’t read too much into it.”

“But now I have concerns. I don’t know what I would do with myself if we weren’t meant to be together. And betrayal? That sounds really serious,” Hyunjin rambled.

“You don’t have to take it that seriously Jinnie. I promise I’ll love you no matter what,” Seungmin said.

He leaned over and kissed Hyunjin on the cheek and the sea witch immediately felt better. Some of his nerves started to calm down but he was still a bit apprehensive over the whole process. After a while of sitting in comfortable silence, Hyunjin looked up at the moon.

“Do witches usually have wedding ceremonies?” The sea witch asked.

“Every person is different really. It’s up to what the couple wants to do.”

“Do _you_ want to have a wedding ceremony?” 

“... I’m not sure. I don’t want anything big, especially because your proposal was so great, but maybe we could have a small celebration.”

Hyunjin smiled. “We can do that.”

The sea witch checked his phone, seeing it was almost five minutes until midnight. He put it back in his pocket and glanced back at the crystals.

“So why do we need to do this at midnight?” He questioned.

“Because midnight is our hour,” Seungmin answered.

“Our hour? What does that mean?”

“Midnight is the witching hour. Usually our abilities are most powerful at midnight during a full moon. Long ago, our ancestors would come out during this time when their magic was at their peak, however, this wasn’t the only reason why they would come out. They would also appear during this time to connect with each other since this was usually the safest time to do so. They would be most active during this period and use it especially to connect with their loved ones.”

Hyunjin hummed, understanding the history a bit more behind this tradition.

Once it was time, they both heard an old clock in the distance chime before finally hitting midnight. Hyunjin took a deep breath as Seungmin picked up his crystal, the older doing the same. Both of them held the objects up to the sky, the moonlight shining brightly upon them. At the exact same time, both crystals glowed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! :) 
> 
> I would like to say a big thanks to my friend who helped inspire me and motivate me to create and post this fic. You know who you are. And thank you readers! I really hoped you enjoyed this story!


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